Death's Friend
by Peeta Melark
Summary: Nico is gone, seemingly dead. Derek and company decide to go on what is called an "Orpheus Mission" to save him. It's dangerous and it is also a test of true love. Sequel to Death's Son, so read that first!
1. The Orpheus Mission

I've been waiting a long time. I can't tell you when the last time I smiled was or when I last ate anything. Probably a couple of days ago, but I'm not really sure. It could have been months or years or maybe hours. It's all the same to me. All I can see is him being sealed into that awful glass coffin, and a piece of my soul being closed in with him. I'd wanted to die then and there, but Chiron saved me. He gave me a replacement for the missing half of my soul, but with a cost. There's always a nagging pain in my chest, and an aching melancholy that I can't seem to shake. His eyes are burned into my brain, and I can hear his laughter echoing in my ears.

To put it simply: Nico is gone. He's dead, and I don't know what I'm going to do. I can find him, I guess, if only I knew how to get into the Underworld. Or I could pray, but what good has that done me so far? I've been told the same thing over and over again. The gods keep repeating to me: _Orpheus, Orpheus, Orpheus_. I know what that means. They want me to go on some musical quest to find Nico. I need to sing or something like that. But I can't even force myself to _look_ at my guitar, let alone sing!

"Hey, Derek," Connor says. "I brought you a cup of tea and some toast… I was wondering if you'd—"

"No thanks," I mutter. "I'm fine." I'm definitely _not_ fine.

"But, Derek," he protests. "You haven't touched any food in a _week_. You'll _die._"

"Let me die." I mean it. "I'd rather die than not have Nico with me."

"Oh." He seems lost for words. "You could go on an Orpheus Mission!"

I look up, hope in my eyes. "A what? Orpheus what?"

"A mission to find a lost loved one! They're really tough, and you need a stringed instrument."

"I've got a guitar. Can you help me?"

He shakes his head and the hope leaves me.

"No. But Percy and Annabeth can. And Thalia."

"Bring them here, please." I suddenly feel the impact of a week without food or sleep. "And thanks for the toast, dude."

He laughs and sets off on his errand. I pick up the toast and nibble a corner. It's slightly charred, but it's got strawberry jelly on it, and I guess it's been made with love and care. At least I hope it has. I wouldn't want to eat anything that wasn't made with love. I laugh wryly. It reminds me of the toast my mum makes. It's always burnt, but made with adoration for her darling son.

"Derek! You're eating!" Annabeth throws her arms around me. "We heard about the quest, and we're going with you! But you've got to leave everything to me, okay? You're only fourteen, and this is really dangerous stuff! If you're not careful…"

She goes on like this for several minutes before Percy clears his throat. Dead silence. I guess he's got something important to say for once in his life.

"So… obviously… we haven't got another soul to spare, so we're going to do this traditional-like. Here's the supply list…"

_Nectar, ambrosia, guitar, raisin bread _(I decide not to ask)_, weapons, Diet Coke, iced tea, a map, Central Park, _(Central Park?)_, and a singing voice._

Gee. Whoever wrote that list was on a sugar high or something! I don't understand half of those "items," nor do I get how they will be useful in reclaiming Nico from the Underworld!

"Whaddya think?" Percy asks. I nod contemplatively.

"I like it!" I say. "Really, I do! It's a bit garbled, but you'll lead the way."

"Cool!" Percy grins. "When do we start?"

"Tonight."

**Sorry. It's really short, but I wanted to save the beginning of the quest for the next chapter. **

**This story is dedicated to Donakiko, whose review on my last chapter of Death's Son made my day! So, this is for you, Donakiko!**


	2. A Glimpse of the Underworld

We start packing immediately. Percy goes out to look for the supplies and Annabeth and Thalia make sure I finish my toast and tea and take a ten-minute nap. I can't keep the toast down. My stomach isn't used to solid food, so Annabeth brings me some plain chicken broth and a glass of water. That stays down and I manage to get a few minutes of sleep. Obviously, that isn't going to help, but I feel better. There's hope. I can get Nico back, and life can go back to normal.

In half an hour, Percy is back with several backpacks and a goofy grin on his face. I'm confused, but Annabeth gasps.

"You didn't ask Chiron if we could go?"

"I did. He said 'go ahead.' It's _Mr. D_ who said no."

"And…" I say.

"We're going anyway." He laughs. "Chiron was giving me the 'OK' hand sign behind Mr. D's back!"

Thalia starts laughing and Annabeth cracks a smile. I'm not smiling, but my heart is grinning. We're going to save him! Nico's going to be okay! I'm going to see him again before the week is over… if everything goes well! We can get to Central Park easily enough, and Percy knows how to get into the Underworld, and then we can bargain for Nico's life! I'm sure his dad will be more than willing to let him go.

"Shall we?" Percy motions towards the door. I shove the blankets off and swing my legs over the edge of the bed. Annabeth helps me get dressed in warm clothes and makes me eat some more broth. I don't protest, but I do insist on walking to the border unassisted. Once we're there, however, I'm not allowed to. Percy insists on supporting me for the first part of our journey.

Thirty minutes pass, then and hour, then two hours. Slowly, the sky gets darker and darker and the stars come out. I count them, tracing each constellation with my eyes. Finally, Percy stops walking and sits down with a yawn.

"Time to pitch the tent, folks!" he says, rubbing his eyes. I hear a little giggle and see Annabeth gazing at him with such love it makes me want to cry. But I can't cry. First of all, society won't _let _me cry. I'm a boy. Boys don't cry. It's what I've been taught from a very young age, and I'm sick of it.

"Derek?" Thalia sits down next to me. "You wanna talk about anything?"

I shake my head. "You don't understand. You're a Hunter…"

She sighs brokenly. "I _do_ understand. Nico was like a little brother to me, and I… I'm so sorry, Derek."

"What?"

"I've… never given you a chance… I've thought of him as my brother, and I guess I was jealous of how much attention you were getting. So… I… made a pact with myself not to talk to you or even acknowledge that you existed really… Until that day when you gave your life for his. A soul for a soul. Then I saw how much we have in common, and… I can accept you as my little brother too."

Her confession is so sudden and so shocking! I take a breath, nodding my head at words I can barely comprehend.

"Thanks… I guess," I say after a long, awkward pause. "For understanding."

"You too." She smiles weakly. "I've never really had a family… so I'm glad I've got you."

"It's a mutual feeling," I agree. "Thanks again."

She gets up to help Percy and Annabeth pitch the tent, and I stay back. I'm thoroughly exhausted. It's been a long week for me, and I'm just starting to feel the negative effects.

I don't know how much time passes, but I eventually can't stay awake anymore. I fall asleep on the ground, not caring that I'm not inside a tent or in a sleeping bag or anything. The next thing I know, I'm dreaming.

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Nico is in my dream, of course. He's sitting on his bed in the Underworld, picking at a bowl of Cheerios. His body is shaking from what I think are stifled sobs, and every so often, I hear him take a gasping breath. It's heartbreaking. I don't want to see him like this. I try to call out to him, but I can't make a sound. I can't move either. I'm frozen in place.

Shadows dance across the walls and Nico bats them away. They circle around him and swirl into forms. I see the silhouette of a girl with long, straight hair. Lianna. Then I see Thalia and myself. And then there's Percy, Annabeth and Grover. Nico sobs harder, burying his face in his hands.

"Go away," he chokes out. "Go away, I'm already dead!"

Finally, I manage to call his name. But just as he turns around, a loud crash pulls me back into the land of the living.

**Thanks, Donakiko for your wonderful review! Your reviews never fail to make me smile! **

**Any ideas, folks? I kind of want to see what would happen if I take some of ****_your_**** ideas and give them a little bit of a dramatic twist! :)**


	3. The Fates' Prophecy

"NICO!" I sit bolt upright and realize that I'm no longer outdoors. I've been moved inside the tent. Thalia and Annabeth are pressing a cold cloth to my forehead, and Percy is getting another blanket. Everything's blurry, and I can barely remember what I'm doing here.

"Derek?" Thalia says worriedly. "Derek, can you hear me? You passed out, and you're burning up! What did you see?"

She and Annabeth force me to lie back down as I start to sob. I choke out what I've seen as best I can through the tears. I apologize profusely as I sob. It's not right for a fourteen year old boy to cry this much, but I can't help it. Everything's happened so suddenly that I don't know what to do. I've only just realized how _dangerous_ it is to be a demigod, I've only _just_ let it sink in how much I care about Nico… and now he's gone!

"Oh, Derek!" Annabeth cries, wrapping me in a tight hug. "I'm so sorry! He won't be there for long, okay? Okay, sweetheart? We're going to get him out of there, yeah?"

I stare at her for the longest time. Did she just call me _honey_ and _sweetheart_? I'm not hearing this. Annabeth Chase just acted like my _mother_.

"Are you…" I whisper shakily. "Are you… related to Julia Gray?"

"No," Annabeth replies. "Is that your mother?"

I nod. "Yeah. Are you related to Lillian Rogers?"

"No."

"Jake Ownens?"

"No."

"Joshua Gray?"

"Is that your uncle?"

"Grandpa."

"No."

"Good."

The little back and forth with Annabeth has exhausted me, and it was only about a minute long. I can already feel my eyes starting to shut. But we have to move on. Percy says he knows where to get a train, and he says it'll take us right were we need to go. I get up, allowing Annabeth to take my arm, and exit the tent. No one will let me carry any of the backpacks. I feel absolutely, utterly useless.

It takes us five hours to get to the train station, but it's worth it. Percy knows the guy selling the tickets, and he manages to get us a one-way trip to Central Park. It's a nice ride and there's basically no traffic, but I'm scared. I'm scared that we'll be going in vain, that Nico will have been gone too long for us to save him.

Eventually, an old woman sits across from us. We're all tired and disheveled from the long trek through the woods, and it's not lost on her.

"Are you kids all right?" she asks. Thalia nods.

"Fine."

"Where are you headed?"

"Manhattan."

"Where?"

"To pick up his," She points at me, "friend."

"What kind of friend?" the woman asks. I shift uncomfortably in my seat. This woman gives me the feeling we should have brought Grover along. I don't think she's a nice old woman anymore. I think she's a monster.

"Just a friend," I say. "No one special."

"What's his name?" she presses. "What's _your_ name?"

"My name is—"

"His name is, um, Andrew!" Annabeth cuts in. "And this is John and Sarah… and I'm Danielle."

"I have a sister named Danielle." The old woman's eyes are piercing and blue. I notice a knitting basket that wasn't there before is sitting on the seat next to her. In it is a pair of huge scissors. She's been knitting black socks that look like they could belong to the Minotaur. "And a sister named Julie. And my name is Annie."

Annabeth gasps, her hands flying in front of her face. There's a fear in her grey eyes that I think belongs to fear itself. Then she collects herself and regains a placid expression. The old woman pretends not to notice, turning to her knitting and taking out the socks. I narrow my eyes and watch as she takes out the scissors and cuts the already chopped thread even shorter. Then she looks at me and speaks.

_"Beware, son of Hermes! Beware of the sun! If sunlight should catch him, then all's lost and won. But stay in the shadows, and fate shall reclaim. And your beloved shall never live again."_

With that, she's gone, leaving behind the smell of burnt yarn. I decide that I definitely do _not_ like the smell of burnt yarn, especially not when it comes after a prophecy.

"This must be serious," I mumble. "We've got a prophecy and everything."

"Yeah," Thalia agrees.

"Derek?" Percy sounds worried.

"Yeah?"

"Is Nico your boyfriend?"

"I don't know," I sigh. "I never had the chance to ask."

"Oh. You should."

I laugh. One thing Percy has is his inability to tell a lie. He can't even mask the truth a little bit! He's so honest that I'm almost inclined to be afraid for him. Someone could take advantage of that honesty. Maybe I should teach him the art of telling lies.

"Ladies and gentlemen," the intercom says. "This is the last stop. Central Park! Have a nice day!"

"Shall we?" Percy motions to the door.

"Yeah," I say, preparing myself for the task that lies ahead.

**Again, I'd like to thank Donakiko! I honestly enjoy your feedback and I adore your enthusiasm! Have you got any ideas for what should happen next? **

**R&R!**


	4. Derek Who?

There's a big pile of rocks in the center of Central Park. It's kind of shaped like Zeus's Fist, but a bit smaller. Percy stops us in front of it and scours the surface for what I assume must be the opening. Finally, he looks up, a satisfied smile plastered on his face.

"This is it!" he beams. "Derek, get out your guitar and play the sweetest love song you can think of. A sad song might work too... It's the Orpheus Entrance. You've got to sing something. That's what Orpheus did."

"I thought Orpheus lived in Greece."

Annabeth groans. "He did, Derek. But the entrance moved with the gods. It's now here."

"In Central Park?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. Pass me my guitar, will you?"

Thalia takes it out of its case and hands it to me. Everyone looks at me like they're expecting some huge aria, not a guitar tuning. For five, agonizing minutes, I sit and tune my guitar while my friends look at me like I've got another arm or something. Finally, it's all tuned up and I can start playing.

_"I did not live until today,_

_How can I live when we are parted?_

_Tomorrow you'll be worlds away_

_And yet with you my world has started…"_

I trail off, waiting. Percy clears his throat.

"I think you should play a bit more…"

I nod and pick a different tune.

_"Drink with me to days gone by_

_Can it be you fear to die? _

_Will the world remember you when you fall?_

_Can it be your death means nothing at all?_

_Is your life just one more lie_?"

The stones begin to shift, creating an open door. It kind of reminds me of Diagon Alley from _Harry Potter_, if you know what I mean? We step through, shivering. It's freezing cold and none of us had the foresight to bring an extra sweater. We hadn't expected it to be cold (why should we? It's only January!) because Camp was always so nice and warm.

"Let's go," Percy mutters. "I don't like this place."

He leads us down a flight of damp, slippery stone steps and into a vast field of dead people. Yes, you heard me. Dead people. They look miserable, I think. They're all alone, even in this vast sea of the dead. They're like me, alone among their own people.

At the other end of the field is Cerberus. He's got a pale, black-haired boy sitting at his feet, picking absently at the grey grass. My heart nearly stops. It's Nico. He looks better than he did in my dream. He's smiling and there's a dreamy expression in his eyes. I break away from the group and run across. When I get there, he looks at me with a huge smile on his face.

"Nico!" I cry. "Nico, are you okay?"

"Of course I'm okay!" he laughs. "What are you talking about?"

"You're dead, and you don't care?"

"Well, who are you anyways?"

"Who—" I stop. "Who am _I_? Don't you remember? It's me! Derek!"

"Derek who?"

"Nico…"

"How do you know my name?" he asks. I shake my head incredulously.

"Nico, it's me. Derek. From Camp Half Blood."

He looks at me with wide, innocent eyes. They're the eyes of a child, eyes that have never seen battle or pain or anything besides comfort and happiness. Any other day, in any other circumstance, my heart would soar to see his eyes this. But now it weighs my heart down like a ton of bricks. I know it's a cliché expression, but it's all I've got right now.

"Nico, please," I beg, half sobbing, half laughing. "Please tell me you remember me. Please!"

"I remember you." He laughs. "I'll never forget you. I met you only a few moments ago…"

"Oh, gods!"

"You look familiar…" He trails off and my hopes rise again. "Are you—?"

**Haha! Cliffhanger again! Sorry it's so short. Again, thanks to Donakiko! Romeo and Juliet, eh? Now ****_there's_**** an idea! **


	5. What If?

"Are you…?" Nico pauses. "Are you my friend?"

I laugh, despite myself, at his innocent words. How in _Zeus'_ name does he not remember me? After everything he's ever done to worry me, he goes and dies and now he doesn't even have the common courtesy to _remember_ me? I mean really! He could at least _pretend_ to recognize me! The effort might make me feel a little bit better about this whole situation.

"I'm a bit more than your friend," I say. "I'm the love of your life, so remember me before I have to slap you."

The statement was meant to be funny, but Nico bursts into tears. I do my best to comfort him, wrapping him in a tight hug and letting him cry into my shirt. Percy, Annabeth and Thalia hang back, pain shining in their eyes. I'm crying now, unsure of what to do. I want them to help me, but at the same time I don't. Nico just needs time. But that time is time we don't have. If we're going to get him out of here, we're going to have to do it quickly. But first we've got to find Hades and figure out what's happened to Nico's memory.

"It's going to be okay," I whisper. "Don't worry. We've just got to go see your dad and figure out what to do."

"I have a dad?" he asks. Then his eyes light up with a sudden memory. "I do have a dad! Hades, right?"

Relief floods through me. At least he's remembered his father! The next step is remembering everyone else!

"Yeah, Nico. Your dad is Hades."

He considers this, a pout forming on his face. Then he looks at me, another glimmer of light in his eyes. When he speaks, it's with increasing excitement, like a child given a new toy.

"And… and my mother's name… was Maria! I'm a son of Hades! And… I'm in love with someone… I know that much… but I can't tell them just yet. I think they told me…"

I want to cry, but I hold it together, speaking to him in the same tone I would use for the younger campers.

"Yes, yes! You've got the hang of this memory business, so don't give up!"

"Her name… no… _his_ name… is…" He pauses and I hold my breath. "Danny… Demyx… Der…Derek… Derek!"

He looks at me, his eyes glowing. I drag him to his feet and wrap him in a tight hug, promising myself that I will never, ever let go again. He pokes me in the back once, twice, three times until I finally put him down. As soon as his feet hit the floor, he's ready with a witty remark.

"My ribs are still breakable, just so you know."

"Sorry," I apologize, casting my eyes downward. I want to mention what he said about me, but I don't want to risk it… and, gods, I sound like a teenage (popular clique) girl. Laughter bubbles up in my chest, and I can't help but let it all go.

"Did I say something funny?" Nico asks, eyeing me worriedly.

"N-no!" I say. "In fact, I thought you were going to say 'Am I _Hephaestus_,' or something silly like that! But you didn't! You only said nice things, albeit childish."

"Ahem." Percy clears his throat. "We've got to get Nico out of here before daylight, so I think we should go find his dad."

"Right you are," Nico and I say. We're completely in unison… It's kind of creepy.

"Does that mean I get the half-soul back?" asks Nico, his face full of hope. I nod.

"It sure does."

**OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO**

Note to self: The palace of Hades is _not_ a place I want to spend time in _ever_ again. It's cold and dark and full of skeletons and other dead people. They keep blocking our way with their swords, and Nico has to stop constantly to sort them out. It takes us nearly an hour to reach the main chamber when it should have taken us twenty minutes!

Of course, Hades is waiting for us when we arrive, and he doesn't look happy. I feel Nico take my hand, but he takes it back under his father's scrutinizing glare. Persephone is there too, giving me a look worthy of her husband. I can tell she doesn't approve, but Hades is harder to read.

"Father, Persephone," Nico says, starting forward. "I can explain—"

"No need," Hades says, waving his son away. "I know everything."

"You—you do?" Nico's face falls. "And you're… okay?"

Hades smiles, and I think he could almost make a good father.

"Of course I knew! I've known you two were destined for each other since before your were born!"

"Really?" Nico looks like he could faint.

"Well… no. More since Derek gave his soul for you and you gave yours for him."

"Dad!" Nico whines. "That's not funny!"

Hades laughs a full, hearty laugh. Yeah… I can see them as a happy family. Hades has this nice kind of fatherly glow to his smile that I, not having a dad, wouldn't know. I've been accustomed to motherly smiles and to people stroking my hair, and to musical, airy laughter. Much to my embarrassment, I find myself getting rather choked up. Then Nico clears his throat and the moment is gone.

"I'm leaving," he says. Hades looks sad.

"I'm afraid I can't let you leave," he replies. I can see Nico holding back a sob.

"Why not?"

"Nico, an Orpheus pact is very dangerous. If the sunlight catches you, you'll be gone forever and there will be no chance of getting you back!"

"You mean no chance of _them_ getting me back!" Nico spits. "You'll have me all to yourself. Is _that _what you want?"

"No, Nico, I—"

"That _is_ what you want, isn't it? You want me to stay here, daddy's little boy, don't you? Well, I _won't_ do it! I'm going with them."

"Nico, they can visit you whenever they like! I promise. So long as they pay their exit fee, they can come and go as they please, okay?"

"NO!" Nico shouts. The ground shakes and several skeletons crawl out, lining up behind him. I run to stop him, but they throw me back. My head hits the floor and I give a tiny yelp of pain. Nico hears and his will falters. When he speaks again, his voice is shaking.

"What if… what if they… What if Derek joins _me_?"

**Cliffhanger again! I'm having such fun with these! What do you want to happen next? I may or may not use your ideas, depending on whether or not I want to surprise all you lovely people!**

**Thanks, Donakiko for your lovely Hephaestus joke! I think it was great, and I even put it in the story!**


	6. The Hunter's Choice

Nico's words ring in my mind over and over and over again. I shake my head, trying in vain to clear it.

"Join you?" I ask. He lowers his eyes to the floor, looking embarrassed. "Here?"

Again, he looks away. Finally, I cross to him and wrap an arm around his trembling shoulders. When he looks at me, his black eyes are full of unspeakable pain and something else I don't quite know. I think it's an apology he doesn't have to utter, though I can't think of what he's done wrong.

"Hey," I whisper. "It's going to be okay."

Nico looks away and then looks back, his eyes still haunted. I would give anything to know what he's thinking right now, but part of me already does know. He's thinking about her… Lianna. He's thinking that this is all her fault, and that he should have known befriending her was a bad idea from the start. Or he could just be thinking about how gorgeous my eyes are… No really… They're the most beautiful eyes in the world. At least that's what Mum told me.

"Derek…?" he whispers, nearly choking on a flood of tears. I squeeze his shoulders tightly, praying that I'll never have to let go.

"Yeah?"

"I'm sorry."

"Don't be."

"I shouldn't have asked you to stay… It wasn't fair. You can go now… If you'd like."

I shake my head, appalled that he would even _suggest _my leaving him here! "No."

His eyes get frantic, like there's some little creature in his mind, desperate to get out. He grabs my shirt and buries his face in it.

"No, Derek! If you stay, I'll never forgive myself. You don't know what it's like to see the person you love lying on the ground… still and cold… dead!"

Actually, I do know, but I don't tell him that. You may remember the incident with the knife and the beach in which I gave up my soul to save Nico… but that's not really the point now, is it? At the current moment, Nico is crying into my shirt, and I can do absolutely nothing to get him to stop. Everything I say just makes him cry harder. Finally, Thalia steps forward. Her face has gone impossibly pale, and I can see her shivering. From cold or fear, I can't tell.

"I—" she pauses. "I'll stay…"

Silence. Everyone's breathing has all but stopped, and I can almost hear the rushing of the Styx and the shuffling of ghostly feet outside the palace walls.

"What?" I say. I know it's not the smartest thing I've ever said, but it's all I can manage. Thalia takes another shaky breath.

"I'll stay here. You guys go ahead… okay? I'm a Hunter… My soul is untainted and pure, worth a thousand mortal souls. If you'd like, you can take it and both be free. And I'll stay here…" She smiles bitterly and continues on, her words barely connecting into proper sentences as tears stream down her pale cheeks. "My brother is dead. Nico is the closest thing I've got to family… like a brother… I'd do anything to ensure his happiness and well-being."

She places a hand over her heart. It starts to glow, getting brighter and brighter until I have to look away. Then it's gone. Instead, there's a warm, blue glow in the center of her palm. Her soul, I think. It's pure and beautiful, shimmering and dancing in her pale, thin fingers. She holds it out to me. I take a step back. She turns to Hades.

"Take it," she says. "Take it and let them go."

The god of the dead reaches out and takes the glowing orb in his hand, turning it over, examining every little wisp of mist and every little glimmer of light. Finally, he nods his head. "A fair arrangement," he says.

"No!" Nico cries. "No, Thalia! NO!"

His father places a heavy hand on his shoulder and leads him aside. I can hear them whispering even from where I've fallen to my knees on the cold floor.

"Nico, there's still time to save Thalia. But you'll have to move quickly. She's under a spell."

"What?" Nico pales. "What kind of spell?"

Hades sees the look of hurt on his son's face and amends his statement. "The spell did not impair her judgment, but it will make it harder for her to get out of here. You need to find Artemis and Apollo. Now, go. Your stepmother and her little servant will do anything to stop you. If you want to save her, you have ten days and ten days only."

"Yes, Dad," Nico whispers, walking back and burying his face in my shirt again. "Come on, Derek. Thalia—" He turns to her. "Wait here. Don't eat, don't drink, and don't fall asleep until we come back for you. We'll be back in ten days at the maximum."

They embrace, and I can see tears flowing from Thalia's eyes again. I don't think I've ever seen her cry as much as she has today. In my head, I can hear the traces of a song. _I can't believe this is goodbye. _Nico crosses back to me and takes my hand. I lean over and kiss him on the cheek, just below his right eye eye. Up close, I notice how smooth and how pale his skin is from time in the Underworld. It pains me to think of him trapped in this dreadful place.

"Come on," Percy says, taking Annabeth's hand and leading her away. "Let's go."

**Thanks everyone for your awesome feedback! Donakiko, I'm so glad you like this story! Because you make me smile every time you review, you can make an OC for my story (if you'd like). Just give me his/her name and physical appearance, personality and godly parent, and I'll put them in my story.**

**Thanks to "Guest" for the idea! I really loved it, and I hope I get more ideas from people...! :) **


	7. Under a Spell

The whole way up to the Overworld (if that's what it's called), Nico doesn't let go of my hand. In fact, he wraps his arms around my elbow in a death grip that I'd never thought he could be capable of! Percy and Annabeth are much the same. Annabeth's eyes are wet with unshed tears, and whenever she speaks, her voice is soft and trembling. Percy doesn't speak, but I can see the tension in his shoulders from holding back sobs.

"She was my best friend…" Annabeth whispers again and again.

"I know," Percy soothes. "I know."

Nico is getting tired fast, and so am I. I haven't eaten or slept in a long while, leaving my body weak and shaky. But I keep going and don't let go of Nico's hand for a single moment.

After about an hour, we get the bus to Percy's house. The door is opened by a kind looking woman who I can only assume is Percy's mother. Behind her is a man who I can only assume is Percy's stepfather. When they see us, his mother bursts into hysterical laughter and drags us into the small apartment.

"Mum," Percy says. "This is Derek. He's a friend of mine from camp."

His mother smiles at me, her whole face lighting up. "Hello, Derek. Call me Sally."

I shake her hand and she pulls me into a tight hug. She reminds me a lot of my own mother. I wonder briefly if I'll ever see my mum again, but quickly push the thought aside.

"Percy," Sally says. "Why don't you take them all back to your room and get everyone cleaned up. You're all a mess!"

From the forced quality of her cheerful voice, I can tell that she's on the verge of a panic attack. But she's too strong to let Percy know. I know she'll probably pull him aside when we're asleep and ask him what happened, and he'll have no choice but to tell her.

"Yes, Mum!" Percy says. "Could you make us some dinner? Derek hasn't eaten in, like, a week, and he's probably about to faint of exhaustion."

Sally nods and retreats into the kitchen. Percy's stepdad tosses us a bunch of pillows, sleeping bags and blankets in a gigantic garbage bag. Percy catches it with a tired grin and leads us all to his room. It's surprisingly big, considering the compactness of the rest of the apartment. But it's cozy nonetheless. I think that, under different circumstances, I would have felt quite happy here. But one of my friends is dead, and I have no clue how we're going to get her back.

Percy spreads the pillows, sleeping bags and blankets out on the floor and, with some difficulty, pushes his bed to the back of the room.

"I don't think it's fair for me to sleep there if you're all on the floor," he explains. We laugh.

"Well…" Annabeth says. "We can sleep on this half of the blankets and Derek and Nico can sleep on that half." I notice she's given herself and Percy the less comfortable side and am about to argue with her, but Percy shakes his head at me. Obviously I'm not supposed to argue with her. I sigh and sit down on Nico and my side of the makeshift bed. Annabeth flops down a little ways away from me and Percy sits next to her. Nico looks at me for a long while before settling between Annabeth and I. She reaches out and wraps him in a comforting hug. I hear the name "Thalia" in their conversation. Right… They were probably closer to her than Percy and I could ever be.

Percy and I share a sympathetic look and pull the blankets up to our ears. It's not cold, but it's comforting to know that I can't really get cold in here.

**OOOOO00000000000000**

"Derek?" Nico's voice wakes me up from a fitful sleep.

"Yeah?"

"I'm scared."

I look at him. He's so thin and so pale that the darkness seems to swallow him whole. His eyes are shining with a wild light. It's the same look I saw once in the eyes of a deer that was about to get hit by a truck. Somehow the look makes him look like a small child. The thought almost makes me laugh.

"Don't be," I say. "We're going to get her back."

He shakes his head. "It's not that… I'm sure we'll get her back… I just… Who's got her under a spell?"

I shrug. "Probably Lianna." He looks stricken. "Or Persephone. Or anyone really."

"Do you really think it's Lianna?"

"Probably. Isn't she your crazy fanclub?"

"Yeah." He pauses, his face thoughtful. "D'you think Lianna could've been under a spell?"

"Couldn't say," I murmur, half asleep. "Who's to say _I'm_ not under a spell?"

His eyes widen. "What kind of spell?"

"Love spell, you idiot!" I tease, hitting his shoulder jokingly. "Now get to sleep or I'll ask Sally for a frying pan!"

"What's the frying pan for?" Nico asks with a yawn.

"To knock you out so you'll leave me in peace!"

"Oh." He yawns again and rubs his eyes sleepily. "Night, Derek!"

"Goodnight, Nico!" And without another word, we fall asleep. Hopefully we'll catch some news of Thalia and we'll be able to get her back before it's too late.

**Thanks for all the reviews! DionaEnvis, I fixed my last chapter so that it gave idea credits!**

**Donakiko, you can make the parent any god you like (even Big Three), but I am looking for children of Apollo, Demeter, Athena and/or Aphrodite to make the family trees a bit more interesting… Children of muses and nymphs might be cool too. Any OC is great, though!**


	8. I Don't Know

When we wake up, Sally's made us blue, chocolate chip pancakes and hot chocolate. Percy makes sure that everyone gets his or her breakfast before taking his and I can't help but wonder if his mum had a little something to do with that. I've seen Percy at Camp. He shares his food with _no one_.

"Everyone had a good night's sleep?" he asks, looking at me.

"Yeah," we chorus. "Great."

"Good." He doesn't look too concerned with anything but his pancakes, but I know that's not true. He's _very_ concerned. I can see it in the flashing of his eyes and the way he creases his brow in thought. As I said, he's _very_ concerned. I don't think he really knows what to do. Annabeth is still crying, even as she's eating her pancakes, and Nico is just eating in stunned silence. Percy and I keep trying to start a conversation, but nothing's working. Finally I decide to give up trying to make the conversation natural and go for the awkward angle.

"Sooo…" I say. "Anyone up for a quest?"

No one nods. They shake their heads and look at their breakfast. I groan.

"Okay. Anyone want to help Thalia?"

Three nods this time. _All_ of us want to help Thalia. She's the closest thing Nico's got to family, and she's become one of my friends over the short time we spent together going to get Nico from hell. And not to mention how torn up Annabeth is. We all want to get Thalia back, but we… I… just don't know _how_.

"So…" I cough into my hand, trying to hide the look of despair on my face. "What do you want to do?"

Nico raises his hand and jerks it back down again, realizing that he's not in a classroom. "I think we should steal her away… in the dead of night."

He's being serious. I can't believe he's being serious! Before I can stop myself, I mumble:

"Well, that's a stupid idea."

His face falls. Suddenly, the hem of his shirt is the most interesting thing he's seen in his entire life. He starts unraveling a loose thread, trying to pretend I haven't just been a total jerk. I sigh.

"Sorry."

He doesn't look up, too absorbed in that loose thread to care. I open my mouth to apologize again and then shut it. What's the use? We're all tired and grumpy, and I'm pretty sure Nico thinks I just called him stupid. If there's one thing he hates, it's being called stupid. Apparently kids used to call him that at his old school… I guess it really got under his skin.

Percy pats me on the shoulder. I almost turn and snap at him, but I can't have _two_ people mad at me! Instead, I nod weakly in his direction and turn back to stare at the floor. He seems to get the message, but Annabeth doesn't. Without a word, she shuffles closer to me and wraps her arms around my shoulders. I can feel her shaking as she sobs. I hook one arm around her and do my best to be comforting.

"Hey," I whisper. "It's going to be okay. We're going to get Thalia, yeah?"

She nodded. "Yeah."

"Plan of action?" I say, even though I know it's hopeless. No one had any ideas earlier, so why now?

"Disguise," says Annabeth, her eyes glinting with excitement. "We'll all disguise ourselves."

"How?" I ask. She squints for a moment, thinking. Then her eyes widen and she exclaims: "That's it!"

"What's it?"

"You'll be my little sister!"

"WHAT?"

"You're tan enough to look like we've been traveling together, or we live in the same place. We can put a blonde wig on you, and we'll just say that our dad has brown eyes or something like that. And they're hazel anyway, so that doesn't really matter."

"Brown hazel," I correct. She nods curtly.

"Whatever. Percy will be my boyfriend."

"He _is_ your boyfriend."

"And Nico can still be your boyfriend."

Nico raises his hand in protest. "I'm not actually his boyfriend."

"Whatever," Annabeth says again. "You guys are basically a couple, so we can pass you off as such easily enough. And people won't stare as much."

"Thanks…" Nico tries not to look offended. Then he laughs. "Would people _really_ stare?"

Percy snorts unattractively. "What do _you_ think, Nico? Of _course_ they would!"

I slam my hand down on the floor. Despite it being muffled by the blankets, Nico jumps. Poor thing. He's gotten kind of jumpy since his "death."

"No matter who stares, I'm not going to be anyone's little sister!" I cry. "I don't look good with fair hair, my voice is too low… sort of… and I've got _way_ too much dignity to wear a dress!"

"I wear them!" Annabeth argues.

"You're a girl," Percy quips. She shoots him an angry glare and a few muttered words.

"Fine. No dresses." Annabeth narrows her eyes, deep in thought once more. "But we'll have to find some way to disguise him. He's made a bunch of enemies. We all have."

"So what'll we do?" Nico asks. "Now that your plan's been vetoed…"

"I don't know…" Annabeth says. "I really don't know…"

**Thanks for waiting, folks! I'm sorry it took me so long to update! I've got a pretty good idea of what I want to happen! But feedback is always welcome! I love knowing your thoughts!**

**Thanks to DionaEnvis and Donakiko for always reviewing! It's really one of the high points of my days, hearing your thoughts!**

**Donakiko… I love ****_Tangled_****, and I almost wanted to put Derek in a Rapunzel dress… J I'm really interested in having a son/daughter of Demeter… if it wouldn't be a bother. I dunno… I'm intrigued by their nature powers. Could you make one? **

**Review and tell me what you think! So long, folks!**


	9. Sometimes, I Hate Annabeth

"I do!" Percy says. "I know what to do!"

"You do?" I ask. He nods, reaching for the phone on his bedside table. I shiver and he looks at me.

"It's a landline… perfectly safe." He punches in a few numbers and holds it to his ear. A crackly, female voice answers. He pauses and then says: "Hey… Um, Terra? Yeah. It's Percy… Oh really? That's great! You'll have to take some pictures to show me later, okay? Well… funny you should say that! We kind of need your help… Oh, okay. It's my girlfriend's sister's boyfriend. He got into a bit of trouble, and Thalia saved his life. We need to get her back. Her name? It's ummm… Dereka… Yeah… No she isn't German... Well… see you then!"

He hangs up and I glare at him. Annabeth grins and jumps to her feet, calling for Percy's mother. Sally comes running in, a frightened look in her eyes.

"What's happened? Is everyone okay?"

"Fine," says Annabeth. "We've just got to disguise Derek as a girl… Dereka."

Sally laughs. "Of course you do."

She leaves for a minute and comes back holding a mass of blue and grey clothing. In her hand, she also has a little bottle with grey disks floating in some strange, clear liquid. _Colored contacts_, I think, knowing all too well what this means. I've got no choice. I've got to be Dereka Chase. It's a nightmare come true, and I'm almost ready to bash my head against a window if it means not having to wear a dress.

"Do you guys need any hair extensions?" Sally asks. I shake my head.

"Yeah," Annabeth says. "A wig, actually. One that we can get to look natural."

"No problem!" Sally chirps. "I think I've got one from that time I cut off all my hair and my uncle made me wear a blonde wig."

"Why blonde?" Percy asks. "Weren't you brunette?"

His mother sighs sadly. "My uncle decided he was bored of me looking the same. It was when I was taking care of him… when he was dying."

I lower my eyes. Suddenly the doorbell rings. Percy runs to see who it is and Annabeth throws the clothing at me. Sally leaves and brings back the wig, and I stare at it in utter despair.

"Here, put this on." Annabeth hands me a dress and leggings. I do and she shoves the wig on my head and pins it down, making sure it looks natural. Then she forces the contacts into my eyes. They hurt like someone's just shoved a _massive_ piece of dust in my eye and forced me to leave it there. Just as she finishes, Percy comes back in, leading a girl behind him.

The girl is obviously a demigod. She's got that look to her. Her skin is a lovely shade of light brown, like cocoa with milk. Her hair is a dark brown that reminds me of the earth itself. Despite this, her eyes are an unusual shade of pure, light green. She's smiling, and I think she looks nice enough. I wave at her and she waves back.

"Hi!" she chirps. "I'm Terra… It's nice to meet you!"

She holds out her hand. I take it and shake it as best I can. Her grip is frightening, and I think she's broken something when she finally lets go. She looks at me quizzically.

"You're Annabeth's sister?" she asks. I nod. "Are you sure? You look a bit boyish."

"Thanks…" I say, trying to make my voice sound a little less like it belongs to a fourteen-year-old boy. "You, um, look like a nice, average girl."

"What's that supposed to mean?" She tilts her head to the side, and I _swear_ the flower outside Percy's window gets a little bit brighter.

"Um, nothing." I shake my head. "Nothing at all."

"Oh." She brushes off her sleeve as if she can brush off the fact that I'd just called her average, but I can tell that I've upset her. I've only known her for all of three minutes, and I can already read her face like a book. Her face is so expressive; it's really quite a beautiful thing to watch. "Well, let's get going, shall we? I know a place where we can pick up some herbs and some soil… and maybe some seeds. We've got lots of water everywhere… rain, puddles, fountains, lakes… It's perfect!"

She grabs my hand and pulls me out the door first. Once we're out of sight, she pins me against the wall and says: "I know who you are."

"W-what?" I stammer.

"Percy must think I'm an idiot if he thought I'd fall for this, _Derek_."

"I'm sorry, have we met?"

"I'm afraid not," she says, letting go of me. "You can't fool me, but you can fool other people. You'll have to dress like that for a little longer. Just a day or two; until we get what we need, and until we need you to sing."

"Sing?"

"Yes," she says. "Like you did at New Years. I was listening, you know. It was beautiful. And I saw your performance outside the cabins. It brought tears to my eyes, really it did!"

She's not lying. That's the beautiful thing I'm noticing about her. She's dreadfully honest, and dreadfully chatty. And I can already tell there's no getting around the dress issue.

Percy walks in and looks at us for a moment. "Do you two know each other?" he asks. Terra shakes her head, alas shaking the hairband from it too. A curtain of shoulder-length, glossy, dark hair falls down to frame her face. In this light, she could almost be Nico's sister… except that Nico is a whole lot paler than she is, and his eyes hold a different, sadder light.

"Well," Nico says when he sees us. "Let's get going, shall we?"

"Sure." I let him wrap a protective arm around my shoulder and lead me out the door. I have to admit, he's pretty good at this whole act, but he's laughing inside. I can see it in the way his black eyes sparkle in the dim light of the hallway.

"Oh, Dereka, you look so cute!" Sally fusses, hugging me tightly. "I'm so happy I got to meet you!"

"Thanks," I smile. "See you soon!"

With that, we leave, Terra shutting the door behind her.

"It's time we get going," she says. "Procrastination _is_, after all, my fatal flaw. If we don't start now, we never will. Nico, if you don't mind."

He nods and gathers the shadows around us, transporting us to another place, maybe even another world. When I open my eyes, all I can see is darkness.

**Yay! Derek got forced into a dress! I don't think he's going to be very happy with people calling him "Dereka" either… But, no matter!**

**Donakiko, I adore Terra! She's just like someone _I'd_ be friends with! She's very realistic, and she fits perfectly into the story, and I hope you like how she's turned out! Please tell me what you think!**

**Everyone! I'd like to thank Donakiko for her awesome OC, Terra! She gave me the character profile, and I've done my best to bring her to life!**

**Review and tell me what I'm doing wonderfully or terribly, whichever strikes your fancy!**


	10. The Valley of Morpheus

The darkness is a shadowy valley of grass and black flowers. In the dim light of the moon, I can see green, glowing tears sliding down Terra's cheeks. She's a Daughter of Demeter. If I didn't think so before, I think it now. She's very powerful, I think, and very dangerous too. If she can cry glowing stuff, she can probably destroy me with a snap of her fingers.

Slowly, the valley fades into a park. Central Park, to be exact. This is the second time I've been here this week. Terra grins, dashing about and touching the plants with slim, graceful fingers. They brighten under her touch, drinking in nutrients from the slightest brush of her skin. We watch her with mild amusement. Nico lets go of my shoulders and goes to talk to Percy. I wait five minutes and then ask:

"Do you mind if I take a walk?"

Percy shakes his head. "Nah. Just take Terra with you."

Terra looks up from the plants and grabs my hand eagerly. From the bounce in her step and the glow of her skin, she's in her element with all these plants. That's why the valley made her so sad. I shudder to thing what she'd do in Asphodel. She's probably force the grass to grow green.

"So…" she says. "How do you like New York, Dereka?"

I wince at the name. "It's great."

"Do you like your boyfriend?"

"He's not my boyfriend!" I protest. "And I'm not even—" I cut off, realizing how stupid I must sound. "Yeah, I do. He's great."

"You're lucky," she sighs, her eyes wistful. "I wish I had a boyfriend like Nico… Well not _exactly_ like him… I'm not into the whole 'Son of Death' crap. I'd prefer a kid of Apollo or… Athena…" Her eyes get wistful again and she giggles a little. I turn to her.

"Have you ever had a boyfriend… or girlfriend… or anything like that?" It's kind of prying, but she's made me curious. There's something she's not telling me: something dark, hidden behind those bright eyes. Sure enough, her eyes dim and she looks down at her sandaled feet.

"Yeah… once… Two years ago." She pauses. "But I'd rather not talk about it. Let's talk about _your_ boyfriend. Is he your first love?"

I look around and then shake my head. The blonde curls bounce around my face and I bat them away. I'm not used to having long hair…

"When I was twelve, this girl asked me out. I said okay… Ditched and went to play soccer with my cousins instead. I told her I'd gotten a concussion and had to go to the hospital. She didn't believe me. I guess you can't call it _love_, but it was something special… especially _awkward_."

Speaking of awkward, I give a small, uncomfortable laugh, playing with the sleeves of this ridiculous dress. Terra chatters on and on and on, seemingly uncaring that I don't really understand a word she's saying. She tells me about her dad and how he died of heart failure a while back and how she ran away from her stepmother soon after. This interests me greatly, but I pretend not to care.

"Your dad is dead?" I ask. She nods. "Have you ever tried to contact him?"

"Yes," she whispers. "But he wouldn't talk to me. He said it was better if we didn't. He thought I might do something stupid just to be with him. I didn't. I think it's _because_ I didn't see him. The gods know where I'd be if he'd answered my prayers."

I fall silent. She's sadder than she seems, I suppose. Either that, or she's just managed to shake all of that darkness from her mind. I'd like to think the second. I don't like it when people are down and out. It kind of rubs off on me. That's why I haven't got a _clue_ why I'm in love with Nico. He's always kind of down and out, but I guess it's just something that makes him himself.

Terra notices my silence and pokes my arm. I look at her.

"What?"

"Nothing," she says, her eyes calculating. "You kind of blanked and I wanted to know what you were thinking."

"Oh." I try to think of a good thing to say. "I was just thinking about."

"Him?"

"Yeah." She's scarily good at reading me, and I'm starting to wonder if I might have met her before.

"You're worried?" She poses this a question, but I can tell she means it as a statement.

"Yeah, I am. I just don't know what to do. He's so distant sometimes…"

Just then a woman walks up to us. She looks around thirty-six with dyed black hair and a kind, yet pale face. Her nails are long and painted and she's wearing a ghastly, green dress. Terra stiffens. I suppose she hates seeing green mistreated in such a horrible way, and I can't say I disagree with her.

"I'm sorry," the woman says. "Are you lost? I can't help but hear what you're saying, and I was wondering if I could give you directions somewhere."

"No thank you, ma'am," Terra says briskly. "I think we'll be just fine on our own."

I look at her. "What's wrong?"

"Let's go." She grabs my hand and runs full speed back to the rest of the group. "We've got to go," she says. "Now. I just saw Persephone. She's after us. She knows our alibi. It's not safe."

"Nico?" Percy says. "You think you can handle more shadow traveling?"

He nods, his face already paling at the prospect. His hands are shaking. He's definitely _not_ up for it.

"Nico, no!" I protest. "You'll die."

With a small shake of his head, he brushes my worry away. "Just hold my hand and I'll be fine." He sounds five years old. I take his hand and he gathers the shadows around us once again. We're in the dark valley again, surrounded by moving shadows and milky fog. I look at him, my curiosity plain in my eyes. The contacts have fallen out in the darkness, and I know he can read me like a _Harry Potter_ book.

"Where are we?" he questions for me. "We're in the valley of Morpheus."

**Hey, all! It's so nice to be getting your lovely thoughts! I love hearing what you think! It's really one of the best points of my day… **

**Thank you, Donakiko! I love your reviews, and I love writing Terra. She's so bubbly and fun to describe! If you have any ideas or complaints about my writing of her (she is your OC after all), please let me know. **

**I may use other OCs, but I do like the Morpheus idea! Thanks for that, Nicothemudkipz123… **

**DionaEnvis, glad you like it! Please feel free to share your ideas! **


	11. Journey to Sleep

The Valley of Morpheus isn't a great place. It's cold, I'm scared and I'm shivering. As soon as he notices this, Nico grabs my hand and whispers things like 'it's okay,' and 'I've been here before, don't worry.' The truth is: I'm worried. I'm _very_ worried. It's not helping much that Terra is looking at me with this sort of amused smile, like I'm a little kid with an ice cream cone or something.

"Hey, Nico!" she giggles. "Why don't you ask Derek out sometime soon? I'll babysit Percy." She dissolves into a fit of laughter and has to lean against Percy for support. Nico chuckles.

"Because I'm not sure he'd let me," he answers coolly. "And I'm afraid I'm not too good at being social. I'd be very boring."

"You're not boring!" I object. "I love talking to you!"

Terra giggles again and Percy practically has to _carry_ her to keep her from falling. It's a little disconcerting to see her like this. I've only just met her, but I haven't gotten the impression that she's a little off her rocker until just now! A little hyper, sure, but crazy? No. Seeing her like this, however, I can hardly imagine her as sane. Of course, she's probably got the usual demigod mental malfunctions (like battle instincts and Ancient Greek), but somehow I don't think that's the whole issue.

"Thanks," Nico laughs. "But I'm pretty boring. Ask Percy."

Percy nods enthusiastically. "Yep. Very boring. Very boring, indeed. He's very boring!" Then he pauses. "Wait… are we talking about Malcolm or Nico?"

"Nico…"

"Oh. It's Malcolm who's boring!" He looks at his nails for a moment and then drops his hands to his sides in defeat. I laugh a little. Sometimes, Percy can look and acts like such a child. I think it happens mostly around Annabeth, like she needs to protect him or something like that. She looks like she wants to bash his head in right now.

"Percy," Annabeth chides. "Malcolm is my brother!"

"Yeah, but he's boring! At least _you're_ interesting!"

"I hated you for a whole summer."

"Nah. You loved me! You just didn't want to say it."

"You're right, I did." Annabeth slaps his arm playfully. "You egocentric idiot."

"Thanks!" Percy says. Obviously, he doesn't know enough Latin to work that one out. Or maybe he's just joking. I hope he's just joking.

Suddenly, Terra grabs my arm and rushes Nico and I to a shadowy patch in the field. When we get there, she begins to touch the grass and the plant life, making it green and bright. With a satisfied smile, she steps back to survey her work and then tosses me a backpack of some sort. It's _my_ backpack, I realize with a start. And it's got all of my normal clothes and all of my books! How did _she_ get it?

"Don't ask," she says. "Just change back into your normal clothes and we'll get going."

I do as I'm told, briefly wondering _why_ on Earth I'm listening to her. She can't be more than fifteen, in fact, I think I heard her say just that to Percy an hour or so ago. That's only a year older than me…

We rejoin the group and everyone stares at me. Finally, Annabeth says:

"You've changed back." She seems a little surprised. Fortunately, Terra seems to be on my side.

"Of course he did!" she exclaims. "He didn't want to wear that dress! And don't get me _started_ on the wig and contacts! I've had to wear some of those myself a few times, and boy do they hurt like a pencil tip to the hand! And there was that one time in eighth grade when I had to wear a really tight corset for our school play… we did _Romeo and Juliet_, you know! I was Juliet's mother, and It was loads of fun. Except for the corset. Man, did that _hurt_!"

She goes on like this for a few minutes and then stops. "Is anyone listening to me?"

"Yeah," we chorus, when in truth, we don't hear a word she's saying.

"Good!" She continues talking, but with some urgency in her voice. "We need a new alibi. This time, Nico can be Derek's girlfriend. Okay?" She tosses him an earthy brown dress with a green sash, green boots and a green sweater. Then she tosses him a curly brown wig and some green contact lenses. "But he can be Percy's sister."

Nico doesn't argue as much as I did. He just sort of sits in a stunned silence and takes in what's just happened. Then he shrugs and lets Terra dress him up as who I can only assume is Nicole. When she's done, I'm surprised to see that Nico actually looks _pretty_ as Nicole. I can almost imagine that this might be what his sister looked like. Terra hands him a mirror and he looks at it in shock.

"I look like… Bianca," he says, confirming my thoughts. "I don't like looking like Bianca."

"Shut up," Terra scolds. "You look pretty. And it's only a disguise to keep Persephone away from you. And besides… you look good in greens!"

"Thanks…" He draws out the 's' for as long as he can. Terra giggles.

"No problem!" Then she pauses. "So where to now?"

Nico frowns. "You're not going to like this, but we've got to go through the valley, get a vial of sleeping draught and then we administer it to Persephone when she's asleep. If we can do that, we can get her to sleep for, if we're lucky, a week or so. In doing so, her servant, Lianna, will also be out cold. That way, the spell is broken, and we can get Thalia. If the spell is not renewed within three days, it cannot be renewed! Good?"

We stare at him until Percy says: "Awesome!" and then we start our journey through the Valley of Morpheus.

**I don't know why you people read this, but okay! I'm not complaining… Please tell me what you think! **

**I'm not too pleased with it, but I hope you all are! Please let me know if this lives up to "Death's Son," or if it's just a crappy sequel… **

**Donakiko… Thank you so much! My writing is far from flawless, but I appreciate the compliment! I decided to dress Nico up as Nicole to give poor Derek a break. Hope you enjoyed!**

**Thank you also to DionaEnvis! I will definitely be taking ideas from people! Whether or not I'll use them is a totally different story… but I might! **


	12. Who Gave Her Permission to be Our Mum?

The Valley of Morpheus makes me sleepy. I don't know how, and I don't know why, but it does. Nico is sleepy too. He keeps leaning against me, and I do my best not to drop him. Finally, he falls and I pick him up, supporting both his weight and mine. In a weak voice, he tries to protest, but it's not very convincing.

"I'm… fine, Derek…" he whispers. "You don't have… to carry me…"

And with that, he's asleep. He can't weigh more than a hundred-ten pounds, but my arms start to get tired really fast. Eventually, Percy takes him from me and Annabeth offers me her arm. Only Terra seems unaffected. She skips ahead, touching the trees and the grass and turning them green and lush. As soon as she's left them, though, they turn grey and misty again. But she doesn't seem to notice. Her eyes remain riveted on what's ahead, and I realize something.

"You're finding a path, aren't you?" I ask. She giggles.

"Yeah. It'll be easier this way, but it's not like normal grass or trees… too misty and non-solid for my taste." She shivers. "Are you guys sleepy or something?"

We nod. "Yeah, thanks for noticing. Care to join us?" Percy asks. She shakes her head, hair whipping around her face.

"Nah. I'm fine…" She trails off and looks around. "She's here."

"Who?" I ask. I can hear Percy's breathing speed up ever so slightly.

"Lianna," Terra says, as if it's just another name to her. "I can feel her anger in the grass and the flowers. The trees are also looking out for me."

She pats a tree's trunk and a little, hand-shaped patch glows mossy green. For the first time, or maybe the second, I think about how powerful she must be to make things like that happen. I'm wondering if her dad might have been a demigod too when she catches my eye and says.

"Hecate." We stare at her, and she elaborates. "My dad was a son of Hecate… That's why… I can do all this stuff. I can make plants grow where they couldn't before, though it tires me. I can help plants grow just by being near them, and they keep me healthy and energetic. Even these plants do… a little. But it comes with a price. When I'm upset… sad, or angry… the plants around me," She pauses, wiping a tear from the corner of her eye, "wilt and die. A frost kills them. I-I don't know how, or why—and I wish I could stop it, but I can't."

She collects herself again and sits down on the grass. "We should stop for the night. Nico's tired—all of you are tired, and Derek needs to have a chat with me, I think."

I look at her abruptly. "I do?"

"Yes," she says. "You do."

While Percy and Annabeth set up 'camp,' Terra and I find ourselves a little spot under a tree and get as cozy as possible in the middle of a grey field of grey plants and grey skies. The plant-life around her turns greener and greener until there's a little green plot around us. I smile and touch the grass tentatively. There's a little shock, and my fingertips glow all different earthy colors. Terra blushed.

"Sorry… It'll go away in a moment…" She looks me dead in the eye. "Spill."

"W-what?"

"I need you to tell me everything, Derek Wall." She grabs my wrist. "If you want Nico to live, you need to tell me about Lianna."

"She was a horrible girl!" I remark, going for the obvious before going to the details. "She put a love spell on Nico, and then she tried to kill him. Those scars on his arm… that was her. I… sacrificed myself, and Nico wouldn't let me. We share a soul now… Or we did. I've got a new one, and so does Nico, I think."

Terra nods and then breaks into a grin. "That's the _cutest_ thing I have _ever_ heard in my _life_!"

She squals and throws her arms around me just as Nico wakes up. He looks at us in confusion and asks:

"Did I miss something while I was asleep?"

Terra grins and jumps to her feet. I follow after her, making sure she doesn't get hurt in her excitement.

"Sure did! Derek told me all about you guys! So cute! So, so, so cute! I wish I could find a guy like that! But of course I can't! I love matchmaking… if only I'd been able to matchmake you two."

"Clarisse did that," I interject. "Threw us in the lake."

"Hmmm!" she hums, bouncing up and down on her toes. "That' s sweet!"

"You say that," Nico grumbles, "because she didn't do it to you."

"Maybe…" Terra's voice slides from pitch to pitch. "Maybe not!"

Percy looks up from his work. "Um, dudes, the tent is ready!"

"Great!" Terra chirps. "Bedtime, my children!"

She ushers us into the tent, forces us into pajamas and tucks us into our sleeping bags. Then she turns out the small lamp and we all fall asleep. The last thing on my mind before I drift of is: _Who gave her permission to be our mother?_

**Sorry, guys! I've been neglecting my writing for some time, haven't I? I'm really glad to hear from all of you!**

**Donakiko! I love your reviews so much! They mean a lot to me, and I'm very glad you like my writing. Thank you for all your wonderful feedback, and, of course, for Terra. She's a joy to write! Any ideas for what to do with Lianna?**

**DionaEnvis, thank you so much! Lianna is BACK! Any ideas for what she should do now? I haven't written about her in a while…**

**Thanks, everyone!**


	13. Do You Pity Me?

I don't have nightmares, surprisingly. When I wake up, Terra is already sitting upright, singing to herself. The song sounds like it's been written by an amateur, but it sounds heartfelt. A part of me wonders if she might have written it for her father.

"_And you're not watching over me anymore…_"

Something about the tone of her voice makes my heart sink. It's trembling with tears and hurt. I wish I could comfort her, but she wouldn't want to know I'd heard. All of a sudden, there's a purplish glow in front of her. She bristles and starts to chant in Ancient Greek.

"_Leave us, Lianna! Leave us, Lianna! You are not wanted here! Leave us, Lianna! Leave us, evil girl! Leave us, you who charmed and harmed Nico di Angelo, son of Death, and would do so to Derek Wall, son of Tricks! Go away! Send your evil somewhere else!_"

The glow morphs into the figure of a girl with long hair and glowing eyes. The girl extends a hand and says in a low, enchanting voice,

"_Join me, sister! Join me, Terra, daughter of Earth, granddaughter of Magic!_"

Terra shivers and shakes her head. "No, go away!" she cries out. In her shock, she reverts to English and Lianna gets the upper hand.

"_Join me, Terra Markson!_" she intones. Terra's eyes well up with tears.

"_Never!_" she replies in calm Greek. "_I will not join the ones who killed my father_."

"_It was not I who killed him!_" Lianna cries, and I realize how formal it all sounds. "_It was one who knew your alliance with Nico would come soon! But without your father, you are nothing!_"

"I know that voice," says Nico. I wish he weren't awake to see this, but it's too late. Realization dawns on his pale face. "Lianna." She smiles.

"Hello, Nico. I would curse you, but I'm afraid I can't. This stupid shadow is too weak."

Nico buries his face in my shoulder, and I can feel him shaking. Lianna's shadow speaks up again, its voice musical and frightening.

"One of you will have to go with me," she teases. "Perhaps I'll take Derek… only for a few minutes! Just enough for me to _break_ your heart into bits!"

I don't know about breaking, but my heart sinks. I don't have many options. Lianna is probably a _lot_ stronger than she says she is, even if she's just a shadow now, and I don't want to take that chance. I've got to go with her. Nico won't like it, I'm sure, but he'll just have to death with it! And if Terra's got an issue with me leaving, she can write a song about it or something. I'm going because I want them to live.

"Fine," I say, and then wish I hadn't said it. Terra gasps, covering her mouth with her hands. Annabeth falls sobbing into Percy's arms and Nico sits in stunned silence. In the darkness, I can see a tear trickle down his cheek, and Percy's too. They're both crying? Why?

Lianna laughs. "_Come with me, Derek Wall!_" she cries triumphantly. I don't bother with the Ancient Greek.

"Where are we going?" I ask. She giggles.

"That's for me to know and you to cry about!" she sings.

Without another word, she vanishes and I leave the tent. When I get outside, she's there, crouched on the grey grass. She looks bad, and not just in the "evil" sense of the word. Her hair is in tangles and her dress is in tatters. It's not a normal dress either. It's a medieval, grey dress with a black bodice and grey laces. The skirt, as aforementioned, hangs in shreds. She clutches a bound, leather book in her hands. She looks like a witch right out of an old movie or an old painting. I can't say I'm too fond of this look. Seeing my disgusted expression, she laughs coldly.

"Don't like me much, do you?"

"No," I say. "And I can't say I ever will."

"Oh, you will, Derek!" she coos. "Don't worry! Just let me talk to you, and then you'll see."

"Go ahead," I challenge. "I don't think you can win."

"Hmmmm," she hums. "Where to begin… I was born to a family who always hated me for being part god. Think of that. Things happened that I couldn't explain—we've all experienced that! And when I was ten, I ran away to Camp Half-Blood. Of course I didn't know where I was going at the time, but I ended up there all the same. You understand, don't you?"

I nod, unwilling to make another movement. Lianna continues her tale of woe.

"Well, it was better than home, but it was still… empty. I had friends, but none of them knew who I was. They didn't seem to care either. They just listened because they felt sorry for me." She pauses. "And then I met Nico. He was wonderful and smart and caring, and he actually _worried_ about me. And I thought… I thought… I thought he might have… _loved_ me. But I was wrong. He didn't love me. I was nothing to him. Just another friend, a replacement of Bianca! And nothing I did changed his mind. You see, Derek Wall. I only wanted to be loved like everyone else."

It's a spell. It's got to be a spell. The way her voice flowed and the fact that it was spoken almost like a song. She's tricking me with her voice! Then she speaks again in Ancient Greek.

"_So, Derek… Do you pity me now?_"

**A/N: Hi, all! What do you think? I loved DionaEnvis's idea of torture, so I decided to make it mind-manipulation… like some sort of messed up Jedi trick! **** I also loved your reviews! **

**Thanks, Donakiko! I like to think that I've portrayed the cute-ness of Derek and Nico without making it **_**too**_** sugary sweet! I dunno if I have, though… I LOVE YOUR REVIEWS! They're so lovely!**

**I'm glad you like my story!**


	14. Three Days Isn't Enough Time to Live

I can feel myself wanting to pity her, but I can't let it happen. I struggle and fight until I force out, "NO!"

"No?" Lianna sneers. "Think again, Derek. Do. You. Pity. Me?"

"Yes," I say. "But I won't give in. Your life has been cold and frightening, but so has mine. So has Nico's. Even Percy's life hasn't been a dream. We're all coming from some level of despair, and I get that. But what I _don't_ get is your incessant _need_ to cause other people pain. You remember what happened to Luke? He did that too, and he died."

"A hero's death!" Lianna spits. I roll my eyes. Does she _really_ think she's going to die a hero's death if she keeps up like this? If I were the gods, I'd kill her now… except she's already dead. We killed her and she went to the Fields of Punishment. Somehow, she's strong enough to be here, even though she has to right to.

"Death is heroic if it is the death of a hero. You, Lianna, are not a hero. Look at Nico, at the _pain_ you've caused him. Think about it. You love him, don't you?" She doesn't respond. "Don't you?"

A nod and a broken, "Yes," is the reply. I feel sorry for her again, but I can't let it brainwash me. As much as she may _look_ sorry, she very well may be plotting how she's going to gut me in five minutes and what kind of shoes she wants to turn me into. I try again, putting as much persuasive power into my words as I can muster.

"If you truly love him, you'll let him go. That's what _real_, loving people do. If you love Nico, you'll let him live his life how he wants to."

She nods again, her face streaked with tears. "But… he doesn't love me! He _never_ loved me! He loves you. He's _always_ loved you!"

"He hasn't known me forever," I say. "And forever is a long time to love someone."

"Too long," whispers Lianna, creeping across the grey ground to me and leaning close to my ear. "Forever is too long, Derek. And you _know_, in your heart, that he cannot love you forever!"

This is what she wanted! All along, she wanted to hear it from _my_ mouth so she could use it against me! And what did I do, you ask? I fell for it. I gosh-darn _fell_ for it. Now she's got what she wants. She's heard me say it, maybe not in the same phrasing, and she's going to use it to work her magic.

"Derek?" she calls softly, even though she's less than an inch from my ear. "Why don't you help me? We're not so different, you and I…"

I realize that I can't feel her breath on my ear. She's dead. That's why. She can't hurt me if she's dead. She can only hurt me if I'm dead too. I shudder. She wants me to die. She's trying to drive me crazy in the hopes that I'll die. I probably will if she keeps up like this.

"Help me, Derek…" she whispers sweetly. "I'm lost and alone… without a friend in the world… You don't want me to be alone, do you?"

Before I even know what I'm doing, I've shaken my head 'no.' She smiles for what must be the thousandth time in the past thirty minutes—if it's _been_ that long.

"No." I try to sound assertive. "I'm not helping you. You're a sick excuse for a person, and I hope you rot in Tartarus."

"I'm already rotting in Tartarus!" she spits. "But thank you for the sentiment."

"Good," is all I can say. I feel sorry for her, it's true, but it makes it even worse to think of her burning with the torment of her afterlife. I mean, she kind of deserves it, but I feel bad… Is that so wrong of me?

"Why is that good?" she asks, looking genuinely baffled. Suddenly, I'm angry.

"Because I might have pitied you. I might even have _cried_ for you or begged for you to be shown mercy, but now there's nothing in my heart and mind but loathing. You've tried to ruin my life in so many ways because of _love_ or some _illusion_ of love. You're young, Lianna—or you would be if you were alive—and these things change. Love fades. Nothing really lasts forever. You could have learned that, but you'd rather have killed Nico and everyone who meant anything to him. And that's where you went wrong. You ruined everything you had. You caused him so much pain, and you caused _yourself_ so much pain too."

She blinks, a tear sliding down her face. I have to be careful, knowing the kind of acting she can do. Still, I have to keep talking. If I can keep her distracted, maybe Terra and Annabeth can tie her down or something.

"I can't beg for the gods to let you go," I say. "That wouldn't be fair. But I can ask this: that they give you a chance to repent. You have to truly mean it, from the bottom of your heart, and they can take away all of your afterlife. You'll just disappear. You won't feel, hear, see or know _anything_. It'll be like you were never born at all."

Lianna reels back like I've punched her. "What?" she gasps. "No!"

"Why not?" I ask. "It's a perfectly acceptable offer! You wouldn't be angry anymore."

She tilts her head to the side and looks at me like I'm an idiot, which I probably am.

"I _like_ to hurt you guys. I wouldn't miss it for the world."

I can see Terra creeping up behind her, so I get a little too sure of myself. "Too late!" I sing. "Your games are over."

Lianna spins around and throws a bolt of violet light at Terra. It ties her from head to toe and she crumples to the ground, desperately trying to free herself from this strange sort of chain. Then Lianna turns to me. She's got a little, black dart in her hand. She throws it with deadly aim, and it hits me on the inside of my right elbow. I yank it out, but not before a strange black web appears under the skin. Lianna giggles.

"Good luck, Derek! Seeing where I hit you, I'd say you have about… three days. Ta ta!"

And then she disappears, vanishing into the night of Morpheus. The chains unbind Terra and she rushes to my side. Just as I feel her lift me up like a child and start to carry me to the tent, a red light consumes my vision and then everything goes dark.

**Hi, all! Sorry it's been so long! Thanks everyone who reviewed! Thanks, Donakiko and Diona Envis! I'm so thankful to your reviews, but I'm too tired to really write a whole list of thanks! I'll do that next chapter, I promise!**

**Just a side note. I don't know how to use a Greek sword either... **


	15. Godly Ambush

I open my eyes the next day to darkness. I can hardly see anything. In fact, I can't see anything at all! My whole body aches, my arm throbs and I've got a pounding headache. Someone, probably Terra, is pressing a cold cloth to my forehead and Nico is singing a lullaby. Annabeth is stroking my hair while Percy is flipping through what I assume is a demigod medicine book. Then again, with my sight impaired, I can't tell much of anything right now.

"Derek?" Nico stops singing and leans over me. "Derek, can you see me?"

He knows I can't. I can tell by the empty sound of his voice. It's hopeless. He's on the verge of tears, but he has too much pride to let it show. He can see that I'm nearly blind by the way my eyes probably aren't focusing. I'm probably just looking around like a madman, trying to find something I can actually see. But the black fog is too thick, and I can't see anything.

"No," I whisper. "I can't see anything but dark fog."

And then it hits me. I've only got three days… two days and some hours left to live. In three days, I'll be in the Halls of Hades, far away from everyone I love. I cough and say.

"Could you… write a letter for me?"

Nico squeezes my hand to show that he's heard. "Sure."

I hear the sound of paper being passed from one hand to another and then I hear someone click open a pen. I start to dictate my note.

"Mum," I start. "If I never see you again, let this be my final farewell. Know that I-I love you, and I'll always be thinking about you… But don't worry. I'll be happy. I'll be… happy…"

The words are too much of a strain. I haven't got much energy left. Even so little as talking has me dizzy and weak.

"Oh no…" Terra whimpers. I feel a tear splash onto my forehead. I know it's hers. She sniffles and then resumes her duty of fighting off the fever the poison has made. I reach up to touch her face and manage to say,

"Don't cry, Terra. I've got a couple of days still to live. Cry when I'm dead. You're like a sister to me, you know that? You're like the big sister I never had. And when I'm gone… I need you to keep an eye on my little sister for me… Can you do that?"

She sobs quietly for a moment, her body shaking with each bout of tears. "Y-yeah…"

"Annabeth?" I turn my head to where I think she is and hold out my hand. She takes it, making this all feel very official and deathbed like. "Take care of Nico for me if I don't make it out of here alive."

Annabeth puts a hand on my shoulder and I hear her retreat back to the corner.

"Percy?" He touches my arm lightly to let me know he heard. "Free Thalia. Tell her I'm glad she got to live… instead. Take my life and trade it for hers… She did the same for me."

"Yeah…" Percy says, obviously in some state of shock. "Sure…"

Then I reach out to the last person left: Nico. He grasps my hand like a lifeline, and I hear him whisper:

"No. They can't take you like they took her! I won't let them take you like they took Bianca!"

I run my thumb along the back of his hand comfortingly and try to tell him that he's going to be okay, but all that comes out is a small sigh. I'm tired, I realize. I'm so tired. It's a kind of tiredness that follows a long life and precedes death. I'm only fourteen years old, and I really don't want to die. It hits me that I'm just a kid in the frame of all time. I'm young, I'm naïve, and I've got a lot left to learn. And here I am letting some witch take all of that away from me.

"Don't worry," I say to Nico, hoping I'm not about to tell the biggest lie of my life. "I'm not going anywhere."

Nico gives my hand a tiny shake to let me know he understands. Gods, I hate not being able to see. I know there's a girl at Camp who is blind, but she does just fine fighting monsters. I think it's something to do with sound. She's an Apollo kid after all. I'm just a Son of Hermes. I don't have any cool echolocation powers or anything. All I can do is loot the Camp Store and play guitar.

Nico lets go of my hand for a moment and I guess he's wiping away a tear. Out of the corner of my eye, I can see a tiny spot of light, but I know that'll be gone soon. I turn to where I hope Terra is still sitting.

"How long do I have?" I ask.

"Well," she stalls, looking for something to say. "Lianna _said_ three days, but I think we could make it more like—"

"Two." I don't feel the need to be kind. "I've got about two left. I've been unconscious for some of the three, so I've got about two. Great. Let's find Thalia."

"I know the way," Nico says. "I found this in the Valley yesterday. I knew it was important, but I couldn't tell you guys because _she_ was listening."

There's a collective gasp from the group and Annabeth whispers, "Her soul. You found her soul?"

"Yep!" Nico sounds too cheery, falsely so. "So we've just got to travel back to my Dad's and break the spell. Sound like a plan? I'll get us there by shadows. Everyone grab my hands, okay?"

We do, or at least we _try_ to. Nico ends up taking my hand to save me the effort of trying to _find_ his without the use of sight. I feel sick and dizzy, and I know the shadows have closed in around us. When I next feel solid ground beneath my feet, I hear the clamor of anxious voices. The gods have arrived to greet us. In an instant, a dozen hands are trying to touch my forehead, looking for a fever.

"He's burning," murmurs a sweet voice that must be Aphrodite's. "Apollo, come here. He needs help. Fast."

Apollo kneels by my side and examines my arm. I don't know how he knew where I'd been injured, but somehow he did. Then he says, "There's not much I can do. He'd lose his arm."

I feel sick. I don't know which I'd rather, my arm or my life. I start to cry and Aphrodite wraps me in a hug.

"Oh, sweetie!" she coos. "If we take this arm, we'll forge you a new one from pure ivory and clouds! And then, it'll become the purest of cloudy ivory skin, and you'll be beautiful."

Nico snorts. "He already _is_ beautiful."

"Yeah!" Terra agrees. "And it wouldn't match his skin tone. He's too tan. Would he lose the tan?"

"Afraid so," Apollo says regretfully. "We'd have to make his skin match the new arm. It doesn't work the other way around. It'd be better if it did. Much less of a hassle. We hate draining the tan from people. But, hey! You'll spend more time in the sun, and it'll be back in no time! I'll maker sure of it. No sunburns, no harmful chemicals, no skin problems. I'll make sure of it!"

I laugh. "Thanks. Will it hurt?"

"Not a bit!" chirps Aphrodite. "And we'll make sure you don't wake up before we've finished."

Weighing my options, I allow Terra and Nico to take my hands. Finally, I come to a decision.

"Alright," I say. "Let's get this over with before I have any second thoughts."

**Thanks, guys! To anyone who still reads this, I'm really grateful to you, and I'd love to know what you think!**

**I tried to incorporate some ideas from the old myths, like the replacement of limbs (bones in the myths) with ivory… I don't know how successful I was. **

**Donakiko and DionaEnvis! I'm so glad you like my story! I'd like to take this time to say that I've read some of your stories, and I think you're both really good authors! Thanks again! **


	16. Godly Healing is No Fun

The next time I wake up, I can't feel my arm at all. But when I look down, it's there. Sure it's a bit pale, and there aren't any freckles or anything, but it's there. I try to move, but it hurts too much. This pain, unlike the last, comes from my shoulder. I look and there's an angry, red line between it and the rest of my arm. I guess that's where they connected the new arm. I don't want to ask where the other one is now. Probably in that bin over there… Never mind.

The second thing I notice is that I can actually _see_. I'm lying in a room with blue walls and a couple of curtained windows. There's lots of sun and light, which hurts my eyes a bit after being out cold for so long.

There's the sound of a door opening and closing and my friends come rushing in. They've all been cleaned up quite a bit, and I notice something else strange. Thalia is with them. She's smiling and happy, but there are tears in her eyes.

"Thank you," she says. "What you did was so brave! You took poison to the arm to save _me_?"

I laugh and try to brush it off. "Don't worry about it. I'm good as new now! I've even got a new arm."

Terra giggles. "Yeah, but now you're pale as a ghost!"

I scowl at her. "Shut up! I'm going to spend every waking moment in the sun from now until I get my tan back."

"Why?"

"Because I don't look like me without it!"

"I think you look fine," Nico reasons. He's being nice. I can see it in his eyes.

"Thanks, dude."

My friends sit down and there's a tranquil silence. I close my eyes and listen to the sound of their breathing and my heartbeat. I imagine that I can hear the sound of distant, ancient music… which I probably _can_. I'm in the hands of the gods right now, what with my arm being brand new and such. Finally, I break the silence.

"How bad do I look?"

"Pretty b—" Terra starts to say. Annabeth elbows her and she falls silent. Percy cuts in.

"You look just fine."

"Thanks," I grumble. It's great to know that I've got such nice friends. Terra in particular isn't too concerned with my self-image. In fact, I'm pretty sure she _likes_ to make me really self-conscious at the worst moments!

"No, really!" Terra corrects herself. "You look great! In fact, if I were a director, and you were an actor—"

"Terra, maybe you want to step outside for a moment," says a voice from the doorway. "I hear your mother is most _anxious_ for a word with you."

She nods and hurries away and a young, dark haired girl takes her place. She's got olive-toned skin and glittering, black eyes, and she looks a lot like…

"Nico," I whisper. He turns to look at the girl and his mouth falls open.

"Bianca? How—?"

"Shhhhhhh!" She taps a finger to his lips. "I'll tell you everything once Derek is feeling better. I've missed you so much!"

The two of them hug and Annabeth wipes a tear away from her eyes. Over the course of this journey, I think I've seen her cry more than ever before. I'm starting to wonder if this is the same Annabeth I threw into the lake. But then again, she is human, and humans have emotions, and emotions change.

"I'm sorry," I apologize. "If I weren't hurt, you would be able to have your reunion and—"

"Don't be sorry," Bianca says. "It's not your fault. What you did was very brave… and I'm glad my brother's found someone to take care of him."

Nico glares at her. "I don't care if you died when I was ten, Bianca, I don't like to be made fun of!"

"You never did." She pokes his nose teasingly. "But I never listened to you."

Nico makes a growling noise in the back of his throat but doesn't protest. Instead he takes my hand—my good one—in his and says,

"I made you a present."

Without another word, he presses a small band of silver into my palm. I look at it and smile. He's made me a ring. It's beautiful, engraved with the words (in Ancient Greek): "_Your Fears Are Far Behind You."_ I giggle.

"Have you taken a crash course in musical theatre?"

He looks confused. "N-no…"

"Do you know what musical that's from?"

"Y-yeah. Apollo made us watch it while you were waking up."

"Five times in a row!" Percy groans. "I swear I'll be hearing it for the rest of my life."

I reach up with my good arm to give Nico a hug. Just then, Apollo walks through the door, grinning like an idiot.

"Derek!" he says. "I've just got to give you one more shot, and your arm will be back to normal!"

"And his skin?" Terra asks, laughing. Annabeth elbows her.

"Will go back to normal in time. He just needs a while to adjust. It'll be stiff and painful for a few weeks, but then he should be fine. Any more questions?"

"No," I say. "I just want to go home… back to Camp, I mean."

The god nods and finishes up his work with my arm. He's right. Now that I can feel it, it hurts more than anything I've ever felt in my life. I can move it, and all the fingers work perfectly, but even that sends waves of pain up and down my right side. I grimace. Nico touches my arm gingerly, and I try not to let him know how painful it actually is. He seems to realize and pulls his hand away, frowning.

"It hurts," he notes bluntly. "Doesn't it?"

"Yeah." No use lying to him. He knows how much pain I'm in, or at least he's got an idea.

"So," I say. "Now that I can feel my arm, how long do I have to stay here?"

Apollo frowns. "Another week at the least. Maybe more. But I've got loads of musicals we can watch!"

And here begins my torture. A week (or more) of watching my favorite musicals with Apollo's commentary. Great. Just great.

**So… No cliffhanger! Hope you guys like it! If anyone can name the musical I quoted on the ring, I will consider an idea you have for what happens next! I need ideas, and I want to see if anyone knows the musical. **

**Thank you Donakiko and DionaEnvis! I'm really glad you like this, and I'm glad Derek is okay! Can you guess the musical? Tell me what you think, I love to hear your thoughts!**


	17. Percy Doesn't Understand Les Mis

Watching musicals with Apollo isn't really as bad as I thought it would be. My mum is an actress and theatre fanatic. When I was little, she'd sit me down on the couch and make me watch all kinds of shows, mostly recorded ones that she was in. I have to say, she was (and still is) really good. She'd never really been a star in anything, but she'd point out where she was and speak fondly of her fellow actors. She once told me about how she'd had a crush on the Marius understudy when she was in the ensemble of _Les Mis_, and how she'd fallen off the scaffolding in _RENT_ and broken her pinky. Of course she'd kept on going, didn't even blink. The audience thought it was some kind of purposeful backflip. Only mum knew that it wasn't… and the rest of her cast knew it too, but she didn't say that to me.

The musicals are usually shown in my hospital room because I'm too weak and in too much pain to move, but sometimes we go to another room and sit on a couch, watching the people dance across the screen.

My dad stops by for a few minutes. I feel my eyes tearing up, and I wipe them on the back of my left hand. He looks at me, smiling.

"I'm very proud of you," he says gently. "You did what many could not. You saved Thalia, and in doing so, you saved Bianca."

"How?" I ask. "How is Bianca here?" He smiles and sits down next to my bed.

"Well, it's a long story."

"I've got time."

"They share Thalia's soul now. Like you and Nico do… did… you don't anymore."

"Yeah. Don't rub it in."

"And their lives are entwined. Seeing as they are both Hunters, I don't think it should be a problem. Artemis seemed willing enough to allow this, so I… we… didn't think it would be a problem."

"You?" I narrow my eyes. "Why would _you_ care? You're the _least_ involved in your children's lives! Why would you care?"

"Because I'm proud of you," Hermes says simply. "Do I need any more reason than that?"

I look into his eyes and I see what I never thought I'd see. I see warm, glowing, realer than real pride. He's proud of me! I mean, I got little notices when I looted the store for the first time or when I… I don't really remember the last time he showed _real _pride in me.

As he turns to leave, I catch his arm. "Don't go, Dad. Please."

"Why not?" he asks, looking into my eyes curiously.

"Because I want to show you a musical!"

Just my luck, Apollo bursts in at that moment shouting, "I FOUND IT!" Hermes—or should I call him dad?—frowns but has nothing to do but sit and watch it. It's a musical that my mother was in. One of the only things she'd ever starred in was as an understudy to Eponine. She was great, absolutely great. I'd never seen this tape before because she'd always told me to save it for when I needed a little extra strength. That's now, I'd say. Lying here, in excruciating pain, unable to move my right arm and occasionally wishing I had died, I think makes it a perfect time to watch this.

I can see what Mum was talking about. It's full of misery and death, and it's even harder to watch because one of the bodies in the death count is _my_ mother. Even though it isn't real, and it's just a play she was _acting_ in, I want to cry. And then seeing her again at the end shows that, even in death, her… and her character's spirit never really died, and that she never gave up. My life in a nutshell, I think.

Somewhere during "_I Dreamed a Dream_," Percy and the rest of our crew sit down on the chairs around me to watch. Nico has absently begun tracing patterns on my right arm with his finger. It hurts an awful lot, but I decide to grin and bear it. I've got to learn sometime. And why upset him? He's been through so much in return for so little, and in so few years! My hardships over fourteen years don't even add up to the hardships he's been through for the past four!

"Wait…" Percy mutters during the finale. "She's dead… and she's dead… so how is it they're both alive?"

I roll my eyes. "Percy, it's symbolic. He's dying, so they're here to take him to Heaven."

"Oh. So they're not really there?"

"No, Percy. They're there… Haven't you seen a ghost before?"

"Well, yeah, but he's dying! He might be seeing things!"

"_Maybe_," I say. "But that just takes the fun out of it, now doesn't it?"

"FUN?" Percy yells. "There's a man _dying_ on the TV!"

"Percy, it's a musical," Annabeth chides, rubbing his back soothingly. "Calm down, okay?"

After a few minutes of Percy whimpering about his supreme confusion, he finally seemed to realize that it was, in fact, just a musical. That saves me the trouble of explaining it later. That doesn't, however, save me from my dad's embarrassing comments.

"That's your mother?" he says, almost making it a question. "Wow. She's even prettier than I'd remembered. So, how old is she in this video?"

"Twenty-five," I say. "It was a year after I was born."

"Yeah," Hermes sighs. "She was so young and innocent then."

"Still is!" I laugh. "Sometimes, she's almost childish."

"How's your sister?" he asks. I wince.

"How do you know I have a sister?"

"Godly knowledge. How is she?"

"Fine," I growl. "If not for me, she'd be walking around perfectly happy."

Hermes places a hand on my shoulder. "It wasn't your fault, kiddo."

I want to snap at him, tell him that he doesn't know a thing about me, but something stops me! He's my _dad_. Of _course_ he knows _something_ about me. I mean, what dad _doesn't_ know something about their kids? Even Hades knows a bit about Nico!

"What're you thinking?" asks Percy. I shrug.

"Not much." It's not actually a lie. I've been thinking roughly the same thing for the past three minutes… if it's been three minutes. It _feels_ like it's been three hours. "Just thinking about… um… stuff."

"Family troubles?" He knows too much. I guess he's been there before.

"Sort of."

"Don't worry, dude. It'll sort itself out. You'll be okay. Now, lets watch another movie."

"Sure!" I agree.

"But…" He hesitates. "Does this next one have to have singing?"

I think about it, though my answer is probably obvious. "Yes."

**To anyone who guessed "Phantom of the Opera," you were absolutely 110% correct! Because of that, I decided to use some of the ideas presented by DionaEnvis! Thank you so much! I like confusing Percy an awful lot. He's in for some confusion in the future. **

**Thanks also to Donakiko for always reviewing and having such lovely thoughts and ideas!**

**I kind of want Derek to host a karaoke night with Apollo and some other gods. Thoughts, questions, ideas? Post them in a review! **

**Thanks everyone!—Peeta Melark. **


	18. A Fully Functional Family

Apollo comes in to check on me just as I'm about to drift off to sleep. He looks worried as his eyes search up and down my arm. The red line joining it to my now pale shoulder still hasn't gone away and the pain is worse than ever. I just wish it would all go away. Sometimes… I even wish that I'd just died then and there. But then I realize how much my friends would miss me, and I think it's better this way. I'll suffer just to see the smiles on their faces, and I'll be happier.

"What is it?" I ask as the god leans back with a sad sigh. He furrows his brow.

"Well, it seems the poison moved far more quickly than any of us had imagined was possible. I'm afraid there's not much we can do for you now."

I let this sink in before going in for the kill, asking a slew of questions. In my heart, I know I probably don't want to hear the answers.

"How much time do I have?" is the first thing out of my mouth. Apollo frowns.

"About… two weeks. Maybe less. I don't know."

"Can you fix it?"

"No… yes… It will be difficult. I suggest you tell Nico, though. He'll freak, obviously, but he'll be fine!"

I snort. Yeah. He's not the one who had his arm replaced! I know that he's a god and all, but who is he to tell me what Nico will do? I know Nico better than anyone else! He's my best friend… more than that… He's the missing part of my soul. It's a strange thought to me, yet so very true. I'd never known the feeling of missing someone until I had someone to miss. Now I have that someone, and I don't ever want to miss him. And I don't want him to ever have to miss me.

As I'm thinking this, the door bursts open and Nico runs in. Without a word, he grabs me by the collar of my shirt and looks deep into my eyes. Then he lets go and wipes a tear away from his eye. I can tell he's just heard something distressing, and he wastes no more time in telling me.

"D'you think our parents are upset with us?" he asks. I flounder for the right words.

"Well, Nico, I—" I stop and try again. "I couldn't say. Why?"

"I don't know. Maybe they're doing all of this to teach us a lesson. Maybe we weren't meant to… to… _fall in love_."

The last words are whispered, but I hear them. They send a shudder through my body and I gasp for air that hasn't even left my lungs.

"No, I don't think that!" I say quickly, trying to hide the tremor in my voice. "We're fourteen. We're old enough to decide who to be and who to like."

As I finish speaking, Nico leans in to kiss me. It's different than before. Before, we were just messing around, prompted by the Aphrodite girls and the "shippers." Now it's just for us. It's just a small, chaste brushing of our lips, but my heart skips a beat. Then, with a loud bang, the door is thrown open and our fathers march in. I notice that they have a mortal woman with them as well. My mother. Nico and I spring back, our eyes wide and startled. My father laughs.

"Derek, there's no need to be afraid!" he cries. His eyes turn to Nico and he says, "Cute boyfriend, by the way."

I blush. "He's not my boyfriend!" I protest. "We're just—"

"Friends?" Hermes laughs. "Yeah. Because friends _totally_ kiss each other when no one's watching them."

This time, Nico blushes. Beneath his pale skin, the blush is jarringly red. He looks down at his hands and starts to tangle them together, as if he's trying to tie them up. I do something similar, drumming the fingers of my good hand against the bed. Hermes and Hades, our fathers, exchange amused glances. Finally, my dad is the one who breaks the silence.

"Funny," he muses, "that your son and mine should be together. I never thought I'd see the day. I would've thought that an Apollo kid and a kid of mine would get along, but two boys… Hades and Hermes?" He cracks up. Hades glares at him, willing him silently to shut up. He only laughs harder.

"Hermes, why don't you leave?" Hades asks, his voice icy and full to the brim with venom. Hermes nods and leaves, still chuckling. My mother runs towards me, showering me with kisses and stroking my hair. Her eyes are full of tears.

"My poor Derek," she weeps. "I'm so sorry!"

I pat her back awkwardly, feeling less like her child and more like her parent as she sobs into my shoulder. Desperately, I try to ignore the searing pain in my arm, biting back the little cries of hurt. Mother notices instantly and pulls back, her warm eyes burning into mine. Her pretty face is streaked with tears. It strikes me suddenly how young she is. She was only twenty when I was born. She's only thirty-four now. Somehow, she managed to raise me on her own and, for the past three years, with Lily. Somehow, she's gotten through without my knowing about the hardships she's been through. I know now that raising a god's child must've been hell on earth.

"It's okay, Mum…" I say, sounding like a little boy. She looks at me, startled.

"No, Derek," she whispers brokenly. "It's not okay. You're dying and I can't stop it!"

She breaks down again and sobs into her hands. Nico has slid off the bed and is standing beside his father, his face hard.

"You're dying?" he asks. My mother turns, fixing her eyes on him. Silently, she stands up and moves, as if in a trance, to stand in front of Nico. He stands his ground, though he has nothing to fear from my mother. She reaches out and touches his face, her slim fingers barely brushing the pale skin. He shudders and takes a step back.

"You must be Nico…" she sighs. "I've heard so much about you… Derek writes me letters. He told me that you were kind and lovely and had a beautiful smile… and that your eyes were full of mysteries. He was right. You're perfect for my son."

It's only then that I notice how lost she looks. She's like a child wandering through the room. Her eyes overflow with tears as she reaches out again to touch Nico's hair. Nico doesn't shy away this time. Instead, his eyes soften and he takes her hand in his.

"Ma'am," he soothes. "It's okay. I'm going to take care of Derek… I'll help you take care of him because I like him an awful lot." He looks down at his shoes. "An awful lot…" he repeats. My mother pulls back her hand and rests it against her heart. Her fingers curl against her shirt and she sinks to her knees.

"He's not going to be okay, is he?" she asks, looking down at the ground. "My poor little baby is going to die!"

I can't take another minute of this. With a choked sob, I bury my face in the pillow and pray to the gods for it to be over. My prayers are answered as Aphrodite sweeps into the room. She takes my mother's arm and leads her out of the room, whispering things like "it's okay" and "sweetie" into her ear. Once they're gone, Hades sighs and wraps a protective arm around Nico's shoulder. Nico looks surprised, as if his dad has never once shown him this kind of affection. There's something else there too: fear. He's afraid that this is all just a dream. He's afraid that he'll wake up to find me dead and his father hating him again. He's frightened that everything he's known is going to turn upside down.

As we sit in utter silence, Nico slowly drifts away from his father to stand by the large window. Looking out at the gardens, his face is troubled and sad. I know he's thinking about his home in the Underworld. I shared his soul for long enough to know that he feels out of place in the sunlight. I've shared enough words to know that he misses the darkness, though he won't admit it. In the bright light, his face is pale and translucent. His cheekbones are jarringly prominent, and I notice for the first time how thin he is.

"Nico?" I call. He turns, his eyes glistening with tears.

"What?" His voice is dead. My heart beats faster at that hollow sound. The light is garish on his face, and he looks even worse than he did moments ago.

"When I get better, we can go to the Underworld if you want."

His eyes widen. His face breaks into a grin. Then he stops. "I couldn't make you do that."

"But, Nico," I say. "You're a mess. You don't like it up here, do you?"

He shakes his head, hurt. "No."

"Well, I could give up a week or two of sun for you. Because, between you and me, I like you more than I like the sun."

From the other room, we hear Apollo yell, "HEY!" and burst out laughing. As we do, Hades whispers something neither of us hear. Nico looks back, surprised, seeming to understand. His father smiles and says, "You are free."

I don't know what he means until Nico touches my shoulder. It still stings, but the excruciating pain is gone. I realize that Hades has set me free from death's grip. I am still weak and in pain, but death no longer holds me in its cruel embrace. I also realize that I _was_ dying. Nico's eyes are suddenly dry. It strikes me that he _should_ be crying, but he's never really felt normal emotions. As Hades leaves, I turn to Nico.

"Are you okay?" He nods.

"Fine."

"Are you sure?"

"Yes."

Something in the back of my mind tells me that he's ashamed. I wonder if something could have made him feel like this. Suddenly, he rounds on me and snaps, "I don't think I really need to be here." And with that, he stalks from the room, slamming the door behind him.

Aphrodite rushes in, her most comforting smile plastered on her face. She sits down on the bed next to me and takes my hand. I wince and try to smile. As she speaks, I actually force myself to listen and care.

"Oh, sweetheart!" she cries. "Don't worry about Nico. He's just figuring out who he is right now, can't you tell? He'll be okay soon, I promise."

"But moments ago he was fine!" I protest. "What happened?"

"I think someone's been giving him a hard time. But he loves you, I can tell."

I nod, wondering what all of this means. The love goddess continues, wiping a tear from her eye.

"Nico just needs someone to talk to. A shoulder to cry on, you might say, though he's far too proud to let himself cry."

A protest almost escapes my lips. Nico cries! He cries all the time! But then I realize that Aphrodite is right. Nico doesn't cry much. He only cries when he's under stress of the worst kind or if something horrible has happened to him. I don't know what could be happening to him now. I can only tell that he must be in a lot of pain.

"Thank you," I say. Aphrodite smiles.

"My job is love. It's no problem, sweetie!" With a swish of her long skirt, she stands and sweeps out of the room. Her long, yellow curls bounce behind her, the image of divine beauty. And strangely, I don't really care. There's a scuffling sound and a confused cry as Nico is shoved through the door. I hear Aphrodite giggle and the door slams shut. Nico tries to open it, but it's locked from the outside. When he realizes it's pointless, he turns and slumps against the wall, letting himself slide down it with a high whine of dismay.

"I hate them!" he mutters. "None of them understand!"

I feel myself tensing up, getting angry. "Well frankly, neither do I!" I throw at him. "You're being a bit of a jerk!"

He laughs then. He lets his head drop back against the wall and he laughs. It's broken and pitiful and makes his next words all the more painful.

"No. You don't. You don't because everyone loves you. You don't because everyone you've grown up with will always love you. No one has loved me until now, have they? All I had to do was bleed half to death! If I'd known that, I would have done it much sooner!"

"You were in a trance!" I argue. "You couldn't have—"

"But I did!" he laughs. "I think I did. Even as I brought that knife down, I knew I would be with people I loved. I thought I would be with Bianca and my mother, but no! My father couldn't let me be, could he? He had to bring me back again and again! Maybe, just for once, I'd like to stay dead! Maybe I'd like to get out of this place full of light and happiness because I don't belong. I was born into a world of death and horror and sent out into the living. I _am_ dead, Derek. Don't you see? I'm dead because my father is hardly alive. He's just a shadow of life. He takes it, but he doesn't live it."

"I don't follow…" In truth, I just want him to stop.

"You do follow!" he screams. "I just wanted to die! All that time, I just wanted to die! And then I found you and I wanted to live again! But now you're gone too! You have no reason to stay! My father has set you free. You're free to go, so go! You don't need me anymore!"

He starts to sob, his thin frame shaking horribly in the bright, white light of the room. Even though it hurts, I get up and go to him, wrapping my arms around him. He looks up, his face wet with tears. I place one hand under his chin and tilt his face up to look into my eyes.

"I do need you, Nico," I say. "I always will. If not for you, I would be dead right now. I would be dead because I wouldn't be able to stand the way people talk about me. Back at home… I'm the laughingstock of my school. Be thankful you've never had a tomato sandwich thrown at you."

"Why?" he asks, unable to help himself. I laugh.

"Because I didn't like some girl or other. Frankly, I didn't care until they started plaguing my Facebook."

"Facebook?"

"Yeah. Some computer thing. Stay innocent of it. It's useless anyways."

"I don't have a computer."

"Good," I say. "You don't want one."

He leans his head on my shoulder and sighs. Then he gasps at the same time as a camera clicks behind us. I turn and see Terra, giggling excitedly, camera in hand. Nico's face has flushed beet red and he runs his pale fingers through his hair. I look at him and he smiles sheepishly. "I swear I didn't know she was here," he says. At the sound of our laughter, Percy, Annabeth and Thalia burst in and they too begin to laugh. For the first time since I met Nico, I feel truly like I'm part of a family… a family that's happy and fully functional. And I couldn't be happier.

**A/N: Hey, guys and gals! I'm so sorry I haven't updated in a while, but I'm back! I know it's been nearly two months, but I won't let that happen again if it's in my power. So for your troubles, I've written an extra long, extra cutesy chapter. I think the next chapter might be the epilogue and then I'll write a new story… moving on from the "Death's Son" stuff. I'll still keep Derek and Nico if you'd like, and they can be secondary characters, but I'd like to try a new narrator/protagonist. Any suggestions? Any fandoms you'd ****_really_**** like to see me write for? If I know the fandom, chances are I'll consider it.**

**Thanks to DionaEnvis and Donakiko for sticking with this story, and thanks to everyone who reviews and favorites! It means an awful lot to me!**

**Third: I've gotten some complaints in regards to Nico and Derek's relationship. I'm going to ignore those, so it's useless posting them. J **


	19. The Perfect Ending To An Imperfect Story

When we get back to camp, things are almost normal. I find out that we've been gone for several months and that everyone had almost given up completely. There are even little funeral altars set up with burial shrouds and everything! Mine is plain and simple, almost like a bed-sheet. Nico's looks like condensed shadows. Even Terra has one. It's green and brown and shimmery, like the Earth is mixing its colors just for her. She almost doesn't want to burn it. Percy and Annabeth burn theirs before I even get a chance to _see_ them. Apparently the Stolls had written some funny messages on them or something. Terra says they had written "LOSER" in bright colors, like Percy's first shroud.

We burn the shrouds with loud singing and some dancing. Then we realize what day tomorrow is. February 14th… Valentine's Day. Chiron announces a "ball." We're all supposed to come dressed in long, 18th and early 19th century gowns (ladies) and 18th/19th Century dress clothes (gentlemen). Chiron says it's got something to do with the good old days of pure, true love. I don't want to dress like that, and I don't have a date, so I decide I'm not going. Just then, Nico runs up behind me. I jump as his cold hand brushes my arm.

"Don't _do_ that!" I cry. He grins, all traces of hurt gone.

"Why?" he asks. "Who're you taking to the dance?"

"No one," I say sourly. "I haven't got anyone to ask."

He laughs. "Not even your _boyfriend_?" He winks at me. I gasp, floundering for words.

"You're… not my boyfriend!" I choke out. He shoves me.

"Yes I am! I got our parents' blessings! Your mother couldn't be happier! I think she's already planning our _wedding_."

"Great," I nod. "She's going to put pink and roses everywhere… and… oh gods…" I sit down, holding a hand to my forehead. Nico sits next to me, worried.

"What?" he frowns. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah… It's just… my mother would make me sing… it's a family tradition… we sing at our weddings. She did. Her mother did. Her father did. Her grandparents did."

"I can't sing," Nico jokes. "And our wedding is years in the future… at least six years!"

"You're right," I agree. "But d'you want to go to the dance?"

The evening of the dance is beautiful. The moon is full and there isn't a cloud in sight. I go to Nico's cabin and knock on the door at six o'clock sharp. The person who answers the door is almost unrecognizable. He is dressed head to toe in a black cloak and black dress-clothes. His hair is tied back from his face with a dark ribbon and only two strands hang loose around his face. His large, dark eyes look striking against his pale skin and he has the most beautiful smile on his face. Next to him, I feel silly dressed in dark blue with my hair hanging loose around my face.

"Are you sure we're not breaking the rules?" I ask, my eyes drifting to where Percy and Annabeth are holding hands. Percy is darkly handsome, his green eyes set off by the grey clothes. Annabeth is regal and beautiful, dressed in a gown of blood red. Her hair has been tied back with red ribbons and clips. A tiara rests on her brow. They notice us and turn to each other, the same question in both of their eyes: _Shall we_? The answer must be yes because they're in front of us in moments.

"You both look so handsome!" Annabeth says.

"What, no dress?" Percy jokes. Annabeth whacks his shoulder.

"Seaweed brain," she warns. "Shut up."

Nico laughs. "I thought about it. But I would have looked too much like Annabeth, so it wouldn't have been good."

"Oh yeah?" Annabeth says curiously. "What color dress?"

"Oh, dark grey or red definitely." Nico chuckles. "And I would have extended my hair." He and Annabeth laugh as Percy and I try to imagine what that would look like. Watching Annabeth and Nico interact is like watching a brother and sister. I know that she had mistaken his adoration once for a crush. She was really, now that I thought about it, like Bianca.

"You'd make a very pretty sister!" Annabeth teases, confirming my thoughts. "And I could do your hair and makeup!"

Nico blushes and his face breaks into a grin. "Well, you'll have to deal with me! And you don't _do_ hair and makeup anyways."

They laugh and Percy and I exchange worried glances. These are the people we've decided to take to the dance. Without a word spoken, we move away to have our own conversation, leaving them to chat about their own problems and joys. As soon as we're far enough away, Percy says, "Don't you dare hurt him, okay?"

I nod, taken aback. "Of course not, why—?"

"He's like a little brother, and I don't want to see him upset ever again. He's gotten some trouble from people… they've called him names, thrown insults. He's spent so much time with the dead… he's not used to the living."

"It's happened to me too!" I protest. "And I haven't let it bother me! You should have seen my old school! I only got away with it because I was in the Theatre Club and used it as a distraction from the outside world…" I pause, an idea coming to mind. "Do we have plays here?"

Percy laughs. "Yeah, but I think that's going to be the next story. Chiron said he'd announce the play in the next couple of weeks so we've all got time to speculate. Now, back to our dates!"

We turn around and see "our dates" standing right in front of us, grinning like Christmas has come early. Annabeth has placed a crimson clip in his hair and he has tied a black ribbon round her neck. They're giggling like a couple of five-year-olds.

"And I thought _we_ were immature…" I mutter to Percy. He stifles a laugh and pretends to be serious.

"Well it would seem the two of them have had some sugar," he says, trying to sound professional. He chuckles. "Which is never good for demigods."

I smile and take Nico's offered hand as Percy offers his arm to Annabeth. She takes it and we head off to the amphitheater. It's already packed with people, all dressed in their gowns and capes. I'm surprised at how many people managed to get together an outfit in time! Then again, the Store _was_ selling them in multitudes. In the crowd, I see Thalia dancing with another Hunter. She's dressed in an electric blue dress with her hair extended all the way down her back and tied with a single blue ribbon. The Hunter is a rather petite blonde in a low-cut green gown. She's pretty and her smile seems to make Thalia smile. Terra is dancing clumsily with a boy from the Apollo cabin, tripping over both her earthy dress _and_ her heeled shoes. The boy seems to find it funny, guiding her slowly through each step. She's laughing too.

By the time Nico and I take to the floor, Percy and Annabeth are already engaged in a slow waltz, their feet perfectly in time with the music. Nico and I are not so fortunate. While he can dance, I cannot. As he glides across the dance floor, I find myself struggling to remember which foot I've just set down! Finally, we stop dancing and spin our way into a wall. We stand there for a moment, faces flushed, laughing uproariously. Moments later, Percy and Annabeth come to join us, looking happier than they have in a long time. The next to stagger over is Terra, barefoot and giggling. She clutches a sugary drink closely to her chest and says, "Did you miss me?"

I start to say no, but Nico pokes me in the ribs, stopping m. Realizing that I'm ticklish; he begins to tickle and poke me with no mercy. I collapse in on myself, curling up in hopes of avoiding the torture. My mother used to do this when I would lie about the cookie jar and homework and other meaningless things like that. I thought I'd grown immune to it, but I apparently have not. Finally, Nico stops, letting me scramble to my feet. He's still got that devilish look in his eyes: the one that says _I know you're ticklish… and I will use it against you._

There's an abrupt camera flash and we turn to Percy and Annabeth. He's holding a blue camera in his hands, grinning like an idiot.

"You guys never get any photos!" he justifies himself. "I thought you should! Come on, guys! Act all cute or something!"

We look at each other and laugh. Then we lean our foreheads together, looking into each other's eyes. Terra "awws" and Annabeth laughs, while Percy takes photographs. Eventually, we forget the camera is there and just go back to being our normal selves. When Nico kisses me chastely, the camera goes off again, startling us both. We look at Percy like shocked fish.

"So cute!" Terra giggles, bouncing up and down on her toes. "Can I hug you both?"

Percy gets that on camera too. When the night is almost over, Chiron gives a whole big speech about all the different couples we have here and how each and every love is special… blah, blah, blah. I won't admit it, but I actually think the speech is rather nice. Percy, despite being one of the toughest guys in the camp, wipes a tear from under his eye. Annabeth leans on his arm, even though she's a good two inches taller, and sighs. Nico and I simply hold hands. We don't feel the need to look into each other's eyes or lean on each other's shoulders. We know by just this little gesture that we're here for each other. And that's all either of us need: to be here for one another. After the gods know how long spent looking for him, I've found him. And finally, I feel truly at home at Camp Half-Blood.

**A/N: Hey, guys and gals! I hope all of you are enjoying the updates! This chapter is, indeed, the last! If any of you guys have an idea for the next story, I'd love to know! I'm up for any fandom (as long as I know it), and any character (as long as I remember fully who they are). I'm not going to write anything overly romantic… I'm not really a romance person… but I will have couples and such if you guys want. J I'm thinking of having Camp Half-Blood do the play "Once On This Island," with campers playing characters that resemble themselves. **

**Any ideas you guys have will be perfectly welcome! Also, DionaEnvis, you are welcome to create an OC for my next story. Simply send me his/her character biography and I'll do my best to write them into my next story. J**


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